


Imprint

by AshleyKOMI08



Series: Imprint [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - Crosstale | XTale (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Dreamtale (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Dusttale (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Horrortale (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Inktale (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Killertale (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Swaptale (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Underfell (Undertale), Angst, Anxiety, Blood and Injury, Dialogue Heavy, Dubious Consent, Minor Character Death, Misunderstandings, Multiverse, Naive sans, Non-Consensual Touching, Panic Attacks, Shy Sans (Undertale), Swearing, Violence, Vomiting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:42:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 60
Words: 127,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26876122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshleyKOMI08/pseuds/AshleyKOMI08
Summary: This little skele, a Sans type, is used to taking on whatever title was expected of him. So when the entire multiverse tells him he is a 'Bad Sans' who can really blame him for joining others who fall under this title. That is as long as Nightmare finds him useful. His past titles have left him with a very limited set of skills, knowledge, and expectation. Yet he is willing to give up so much more just to stay.First chapter is NSFW, and then there aren't going to be much until maybe in the future. Plenty of triggers so please tread carefully, I am not used to posting for others to read.
Series: Imprint [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1960795
Comments: 827
Kudos: 230





	1. Initiation

**Author's Note:**

> NSFW  
> Dub-Con  
> This is my first work with both sex and cursing so hope you enjoy.  
> If you want to skip this chapter it is referenced in the future but not necessary to read.  
> Hope you enjoy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at bottom.
> 
> Day Count: 1

This was definitely not how he thought things would progress. He was not even sure what was happening at this point. There had been a ton of questions and he had agreed to… something? But how did that lead to being pinned face first to a wall being touched more than he thinks he has ever been touched before. His breathing had become irregular the second his chest had hit the wall. His mind muddled beyond recollection at this point. His body is reacting more to the touching than his instruction.

Nightmare, a skeleton much like himself only covered in some kind of black goo and towering over him, had his hands pinned up beside his head with his own, as tentacles explored and moved cloth obstacles as needed. The dark skeleton was very experienced when it came to this kind of thing, keeping control over every aspect. Every micro twitch telling him something of the skeleton he had under him. Even every withheld action was telling in some way.

“I said summon something for me.” Nightmare growled into the small skele’s acoustic meatus, feeling him tense under his hands. “Or I can make something form, is that what you are asking.”

The only answer was a small whimper. Then one of Nightmare’s tentacles rubbed harshly at the trapped skeleton’s ischium causing the latter’s pelvis to buck back against his captor’s pelvis. The gasp that escaped the smaller’s teeth almost seemed surprised by the feeling. Not wanting the skele to think he could escape Nightmare ground his own pubic symphysis into his sacrum earning a sharp inhale.

“Come now, you came to me.” Nightmare tightened his hold on the wrists in his hands. “Let go, it will feel so much better.”

_Feel so much better? What would?_ Nightmare was asking him to do something. He was so unused to being asked to do something more than lying around or answering questions. What was Nightmare expecting of him. This was all overwhelming he couldn’t think straight. _Stars, he was making a bad impression._ A tentacle in his mouth kept him from voicing any of this.

Suddenly the pool of burning magic in his pelvis snaps into place bringing a sudden relief that built up quickly back to a burning heat. He couldn’t see past the tentacle in his mouth to see what he had manifested around his pelvis. It was a strange sensation against the sensitive bone down there.

“Hmm, that is how you want it then?” Nightmare almost cooed teeth threatening at the left clavicle. “I am not going to be gentle.”

The tentacle that had already been teasing down there wrapped tightly around the newly formed cock with a brutal pace causing a muffled scream from the small skele followed by a gag as his throat formed trying to accommodate the invading tentacle in his mouth. One of the exploring tentacles under his shirt swiped almost feather light over his sternum. So many conflicting sensations kept him from just checking out. Then the tentacle around his cock stopped and just squeezed snuggly providing no further friction.

Nightmare pulled the tentacle out of his mouth and watched the small skeleton pant heavily with half lidded sockets over hazy eye lights. Drool escaped the corner of the skeleton’s mouth and his hands were kneading the wall like a content cat. Nightmare was taking in everything cataloging how the ones before this skeleton had acted on similar treatment. The skeleton’s hazy lights looked down with an almost perplexed crease on his brow as a tentacle dropped the elastic waistband down to the skele’s shaking knees. Obviously distracted by the constricting tentacle he flinched at the feeling of the slicked up tentacle at his rear entrance.

“It would be best if you relaxed and let me do this.” Nightmare wrapped a tentacle around the smaller’s spine pumping up and down slowly. “Just breathe.”

Contemplating the idea of a being such as a skeleton needing to breathe even though they did not have the system to process such an action a sharp pain shot up the skeleton’s spine. Quickly hiding his expression by forcing his forehead to the wall he restrained a desperate wail as Nightmare’s chest pressed him further into the wall. A wiggling sensation quickly found the bundle of nerves that sent a pleasurable sensation alternating between the pain. Small gasps of escaped air are hesitantly followed by shallow breaths in. The tentacle continues onward stretching without tearing anything.

“So very tight.” Nightmare set his teeth on the other’s jaw this time. “Don’t you want to make some noise for me?”

When Nightmare gets nothing from the small stubborn skeleton, it wasn’t the first time someone withheld from him, Nightmare torturously slowly pulls all but the tentacle around his cock from the other. The tentacle sliding out of the skele’s rear entrance drew out a low groan that had the skele quickly swallowing to keep from continuing. With his chest still pressed to the small skele’s back he could feel the Soul within beating as if it was bouncing around the empty space of the rib cage. With a slightly sinister chuckle Nightmare lined himself up and hilted into the prepped hole.

Ghaaaahh! The small skele scrabbled at the wall with his pinned hands and went as high up on his toes as he could, trying to escape the sudden intrusion. The magic of his entrance clenched spastically attempting to accommodate the girth that was slightly larger than the tentacle that had been prepping him.

“I am pretty sure I advised you to breathe.” Nightmare voice was void of the seductive growl he had been using on the small skeleton during this chastisement as if actual concern was setting in with the whispered instruction. “Deep breaths… now… In… out… In…”

The tentacle holding the cock slowly pumped up and down with the commands. Joints the small skeleton had not realized he had locked up slowly released as his feet returned flat to the floor and his body did not completely reject the intrusion. Bone against stone scrapped out an odd sound as he looked down through his collected magic to the cock sitting in his pelvic inlet and he whined a bit confused at the fading pain and the continued full feeling.

“Don’t worry, I’m about to start moving.” Nightmare’s growl returned at the small one’s compliance. “Don’t hold back.”

Nightmare withdrew until just the tip remained buried and then not quite slowly returned to fully hilted feeling the spasms clenching him tantalizing. Although the other was still not being vocal he had not stopped breathing and was back to panting. After a few more strokes Nightmare could feel him pushing back into him and decided to pick up the pace, he was getting close. Soon he was chasing his own end figuring the skeleton beneath him was getting close as well. His release hit him as his phone began going off in his pocket.

“Fuck!” Nightmare hilted in the small skele squeezing his wrists to the wall in his powerful orgasm, trying to come down quickly to get to the phone alerting him to an emergency. “Damn it… They had better be dying or they will be… Fuck! Killer! I know you are over there.”

A skeleton leaking black from his eyes walked from a corner he was obviously sharing with a few others. Nightmare had known they would be there from the beginning although the small pinned skeleton had probably not, but that was his own fault for not being more observant during their talk. Taking the now limp skeleton by the humerus in both arms Nightmare deposited him in the summoned skeletons arms as he turned to storm off.

“Cross’s alarm is going off, I have to go see to him.” Nightmare stared at the screen silencing the alarm. “Tend to him, clean him up… I am not done with him yet… Everyone else is on standby until I get back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: dub-con sex


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at end let me know if I miss something, still learning.
> 
> Day count: 1
> 
> I am making the assumption you know the characters and they will only get vague descriptions.
> 
> I decided to post a few extra chapters this month before finding a schedule.

Killer sat in a chair pulled up close to the bed so he could use the side table to rest his feet up on as he carved a block of wood. Clean clothes, healing gel, towels, and a bowl were piled at the end of the bed waiting for the kid; he was probably the smallest full grown skeleton he had ever seen, to wake up so Killer could tend to him. The kid was laid out on his stomach on the bed under a thin sheet having passed out sometime before Nightmare had handed him over. Killer was giving him another ten minutes before he woke him up to start tending to him, he needed to take care of him before Nightmare got back after all.

A crash from somewhere near the living room draws Killer’s gaze to the door. Normally Killer would go big brother the commotion but not knowing when their new little ward would wake made him hesitate. Deciding that they can reap what they sow when Nightmare returns he turns back to the bed. The kid must have been woken by the commotion and is now pushing up from one elbow looking at the bed as if it was at fault for something.

“You should probably not move too much yet, kiddo.” Killer watches the small skeleton go to adjust and fall face first back to the sheets after what looked like a jolt of pain. “He is always a bit rough when he does that… Let’s get you cleaned up and apply some healing gel to help with the pain. Is it okay if I touch you?”

“Uh… touch me?” The small skele watches the black tearstained skeleton set down a knife. “Um, I think I can… owowow”

“Lower back giving you trouble?” Killer just watches as the kid failed once again to move from his position. “You don’t have anything I haven’t seen or taken care of… we are both Sanses… Or is it something else.”

“Don’t want to bother you with… uh…” He has trouble articulating the embarrassing mess he could feel on his femurs. “Isn’t healing gel rare? I probably don’t need that…”

“Nightmare gave it to me so I could help with any pain you might be in. We know where to get more. He also ordered me to help you so it is no bother.” Killer watched the small skeleton now testing small movements as he seemed to think hard on something. “Let me fill the bowl with hot water while you think it over… It would be better if you stayed laying on your front.”

Killer picks up the bowl from the foot of the bed and heads to the bathroom connected to the room. One of the few rooms they used for recovery due to that fact. As soon as he has the bowl filled up and the water off, he heard something that sounded very much like whimpering. Looking around the door frame he notices the kid has managed to get to his side and is looking down his shorts. The kid quickly releases his waistband when Killer noisily announces his re-entry into the room. He notices him curl up, making himself small.

“I just want to run a warm cloth over you for now. Then we can talk about what to do next.” Killer grabs some towels and sets the bowl on the side table before looking to the kid. “Sound good?”

“’Kay.” The kid agrees miserably and feels Killer grab his arm. “Wh-what are…?”

“Easy, just helping you back to you stomach. Hard to clean you if you are curled up like that. I won’t hurt you.” Killer gently helps rearrange the skeleton and grabs an extra towel to cover the smaller’s pelvis hoping to put him more at ease. “How’s that? Might have to move it a bit ‘ _butt’_ at least it gives you some modesty… We’ll get your clothes cleaned up quick so you can have them back soon.”

“I um, don’t mind… not really used to too much privacy anyways.” The kid watches him intently and starts shivering hard before he even touches him with any water. “Not really attached to these clothes either, so no need to hurry… I’ll take care of the clothes I borrow though.”

Killer eyes the kid for a moment before noting it for a later conversation. Telegraphing all his movements clearly so he doesn’t startle the other, his first touch still causes a harsh flinch to jolt through the other who is quick to apologize, eye lights momentarily disappearing. Quick and clinical he gets through the cleaning portion but just sets the towel aside in case it is still needed later. A look back up to the skele’s face only reveals possible exhaustion, no overt discomfort. Deciding to push it just a bit Killer picks up the healing gel.

“So… you are cleaned up, at least enough until we aren’t worried about you falling over in the shower by yourself…” Killer watches as eye lights look up sleepily between the jar and his face putting things together but waiting for clarification. “Tell me where you are hurting and I can put some healing gel on it to help speed up the healing… No one can really use healing magic here or we would offer that.”

“L-3 and…” The kid scrunches up his brow like he is thinking really hard on something. “Somewhere lower but I um… I uh, can’t really tell, sorry.”

“Lower… maybe your ass?” Killer watched the smaller tense and almost expects to be chastised for his crude language. “As I said, you weren’t really fucked gently.”

“Oh…” The kid glances down as if he will see the offending part. “I don’t have one though.”

“I should have seen that one coming.” Killer rolls his eyes. “Summon it and I will make sure nothing tore or…”

“No! It’s okay, it feels distant right now. I can handle it.” He knows that is not working instantly by the deadpan look Killer is giving him. “Really, it’s not that bad…”

“Not buying it and I might have let it go if you hadn’t so blatantly lied to my face.” Killer opens the jar and stands over the kid. “Summon your ass. I can only assume there is something wrong if you are trying so pitifully to hide it.”

“…” The kid mumbles into the sheets.

“Care to run that by me again.” Killer pinches between his sockets. “This time where I can hear you.”

“Idon’tknowhowtosummonmymagic.” He rushed out knowing it would probably lose him whatever slim chance he was holding onto to get into this group. “I know I can do something. I just haven’t had practice. I will train hard. I-I will do chores, all of them… Or-or-or more of that…”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa… calm down, you’re hyperventilating. Breathe… In… Out… In…” Killer can only be grateful for all the times Nightmare had pulled him from his own panic attacks. “Do you want to maybe try that first part one more time… Don’t worry about the second half just yet, that is something you have to discuss with Nightmare but I have a feeling you are under a lot of false notions.”

“I can’t summon magic.” The kid looked on the edge of tears still but kept his breathing even.

“Um, I am pretty sure you had something summoned earlier…” Killer points out. “Something had to be summoned to be injured.”

“I am not sure what happened.” It looked like it was taking a lot of will power for the small skeleton to not bury himself back under the sheets instead settling for pulling a pillow close to his chest to cuddle into. “Nightmare must have done something. Too much was um, going on. Couldn’t think.”

Killer couldn’t help himself, a bit of laughter escaped through his teeth before he could clamp his hand over his teeth or fully process all that he was told. Trying to stifle a few stray chuckles and sort through what he was told he missed the sound of the door closing. The one who closed the door silently making his way over to the bed.

“As much as I appreciate the compliments to my prowess, I don’t think that is what I left you here to do.” Nightmare causes Killer to jump three feet in the air and the smaller skele to bury himself into the pillow he was cuddling. “If you were going to gossip you could have been more useful in keeping the others from tearing up the hide out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Mention of injures and sex. Cursing.  
> Now that the smut is over for awhile I hope this is still enjoyable.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at bottom
> 
> Day Count: 1
> 
> Again still new let me know if I miss something
> 
> I don't personally curse so let me know if it flows alright.

“Shit… Uh, the noise woke him up. Thought I should tend to him before taking care of the others.” Killer quickly explains. “We just got to taking care of his injuries. Complained of pain in his lower back and most likely his ass…”

“No, I didn’t complain…” The kid quickly defended. “You asked. I said I was okay with this amount of pain.”

“And couldn’t lift yourself from the bed.” Killer tattled on him then turned serious. “Which vertebrae exactly did you say it was and where else?”

“L-3 and lower… feels kind of like a distant pain.” The kid seemed to be seriously considering his pains subtly moving his legs to make himself more comfortable but notices he is being intently studied by both of the other skeletons.

“You should have tended to him before you let him sleep.” Nightmare reprimands taking the healing gel and stepping up to the bed. “Re-summoning damaged ecto-flesh is more difficult but it is strange that it un-summoned anyways.”

“He was already passed out when you handed him off to me.” Killer grouses going to lean against the side table taking his knife back up to fidget with. “Then he got all shy about getting cleaned up… Perhaps we could talk a minute outside?”

“Fine.” Nightmare looks to the laid out skeleton. “Work on summoning your injured region and we will get it tended to quickly.”

With both of the ‘Bad Sans’ out in the hall and all that comes through the door being unintelligible mumbles the small skele on the bed begins to grow anxious. All he could think was that he had really messed this up. Nightmare would realize how useless he was even to them and send him away. He had to do something to prove himself here.

First he had to do what Nightmare had ordered of him. Shouldn’t be too hard he had, had it summoned not too long ago so he knew it was possible. Closing his eyes, he focuses on his pelvis but there isn’t even a pool of magic to work with (that was a thing he thinks he noticed earlier) and the distant pain isn’t very telling either. Fighting back frustrated tears he struggles to try again to sit up so he could see what he was doing; it hurt. Glaring down he tries to force something to happen.

Nightmare opens the door back up; new things running worryingly through his mind, as Killer follows him back in. Both stare at the odd scene of the small skele staring down his own groin before Nightmare audibly clicked the door shut. The little skele merely ducking his head as he slowly reached for a sheet to cover up and sat back on his heels.

“S-s-sorry, I, um, I… I’m not sure…” He trailed off not looking to the staring skeletons. “…”

“Dammit… I should have asked a ton more questions of you than I did…” Nightmare rubbed his temple. “This isn’t going to work.”

“Wait! I-I-I…” The kid twists suddenly to look at Nightmare to plead his case only to suddenly go completely boneless.

Nightmare had a tentacle around him before he could completely fall to the bed. They had only been told of two injuries, could he have come in with more and they not have noticed. He had been pulled from an AU they had been in the midst of destroying, but it had not been his AU.

\------------------------------

Nightmare was overseeing the chaos his boys were causing as he took in the negativity it was producing. They were not working with Error on this one so complete destruction was not the goal which, unsurprisingly, led to the occasional brave straggler to watch out for and of course the eventual arrival of Ink or his brother, Dream. What was surprising was the appearance of a tiny Sans jumping out into the open from an alley. Nightmare had already personally dealt with the Sans of this AU.

“Hey!” The small skele stood feet apart shoulders squared and fists to his side not flinching as a sharpened tentacle went for his soul. “I want to join you!”

“…You…” Nightmare couldn’t help the maniacal sounding laugh that echoed through the mostly empty and half destroyed Snowdin. “What possessed you to want that?”

“Ink… he said I was a bad Sans and needed to be kept from joining you… The other AU’s hate me.” The skeleton completely ignored the scalpel sharp point an inch from his sternum. “They all say my magic is dangerous, that you shouldn’t have it. Well… if they don’t want me in their AUs why should I care.”

Nightmare pulled his tentacle back and decided to get a better look at this _dangerous_ Sans. Cross was signaled to go on ahead and keep track of the others. The skeleton in front of him hardly reached the middle of his sternum. He was also dressed as a standard Sans, sans any kind of jacket to denote his potential AU. Yet the white shirt was dingy, at least several weeks’ worth of grime, and the basketball shorts were fraying with the once white strips discoloring. The shoes on his feet looked relatively new but heavily damaged. Was this an ‘evil/bad’ Sans or a desperate one.

“So I am to believe Ink didn’t put you up to this to gain access to our hide out.” Nightmare wasn’t truly worried about such an outcome from a Sans who couldn’t create his own portal across AUs. “Well we are in a perfect environment for you to demonstrate your _dangerous_ magic. So why don’t you give me a preview.”

“Why would I reveal my hand this early?” Something had crossed the features of the small skeleton… _fear._ “Look, you have already alerted Ink to this AU. We don’t have time to negotiate here but I can be useful.”

As if summoned a colorful portal opens at the far end of Snowdin. The small skeleton spun around towards the portal and started backing up towards Nightmare. One way or another Nightmare could not leave this Sans to the crazy creator he was obviously more scared of than Nightmare himself.

“We will continue this talk elsewhere.” Nightmare wrapped the very light skeleton in a tentacle as he opened portals for everyone to leave from. “For now you will come with me.”

\-----------------------------------

“Definitely need to rethink the interview process for the future.” Nightmare studies the half-dressed skeleton in his grip. “I missed some vital information and red flags.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Referenced sex, violence, injuries
> 
> Sorry a bit short but I think later on they eventually stay above 2,000.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at the end
> 
> Day Count: 1

The little skele starts coming back from unconsciousness tucked snuggly into the large bed he had passed out in. Although the pains from before are a lot less intense he isn’t quite ready to test it out after that jolt that knocked him out. Looking around he finds his current chaperon skeleton watching him from the chair Killer had occupied. This one wore some kind of intricate black and white outfit that seemed like a lot of work to get into.

“They gave you some painkillers on top of the healing gel so you are probably feeling a bit off.” Cross informs in a chipper tone. “It shouldn’t last too long.”

“You’re hurt.” The little skele blurts noticing a bandage on Cross’s jaw and forehead. “I don’t take up much room if you want to sit on the bed.”

“I wasn’t sure if that would make you uncomfortable.” Cross quickly gets comfortable at the foot of the bed now that he has permission. “Nightmare should be back to interrogate you soon.”

There was too much joking in the others tone to take the last statement as a threat and the little skele just nods. The cotton feeling in his head was fading quickly but only seemed to become prominent in his throat, skeleton monster anatomy made no sense. Slowly scootching up to lean against the headboard he looks out over the expanse of floor separating him from the sink in the bathroom where he could potentially get some water.

“Cracks to the spine are really dangerous you know.” Cross is still watching him very closely and probably suspecting the other’s thoughts of getting up. “We caught yours in time but you should still take it easy so you don’t irritate the injury.”

Contemplating what he was just told he definitely noticed an odd sensation on his lower spine. Even though he regrets the loss of warmth he lets the blanket fall so he can lift the borrowed shirt to look down at a bandage wrapped around his L-3, he had said it was hurting before. Then something else catches his attention; beneath the borrowed shorts he was put into, some of his magic was summoned. In a moment of absolute panic, he brings the shirt back down to cover up and completely withdraws his magic.

“Hey! You shouldn’t do that. That isn’t safe.” Cross quickly chastises. “What were you thinking?”

“Oh, I, er, uhm, I just… my magic, it’s dangerous.” He shivers a bit from both the lack of magic currently in his extremities and the scare. “Didn’t realize. Sorry.”

Before Cross can comment further on the odd behavior Nightmare opens the door and comes in leaving the door open behind him. The little skele deflates knowing he has not shown the leader of this gang anything worth keeping him around for and is probably just taking up resources till they found a safe way for them to dump him somewhere. Outside the door, the rest of the gang tries to stay out of sight to listen in on this new tiny skeleton. They knew how overwhelming they could all be if they were to be put in the same room together.

“Are you cold?” Nightmare needed to solve immediate needs first before figuring out the details. “Or is my aura bothering you?”

“He just suddenly withdrew all his magic.” Cross reports after the kid shook his head in response to Nightmare. “He’s probably freezing.”

“And why would you do that?” Nightmare narrowed his gaze at the small skele. “Your injuries need magic to fully heal… How old are you and you don’t even know that?”

“Uh, turned eighteen recently.” The little skele shrunk under the gaze but the answer seemed to both relieve and worry Nightmare on some level. “And I told you everyone says my magic is dangerous… I have had to keep it suppressed for almost as long as I can remember.”

“Eighteen… we already know that size really isn’t really indicative of a Sans' age. There are plenty of Swap Sans out there close to thirty.” Nightmare thought for a moment of what to ask next. “Your size definitely puts you in the Blue/Berry category. Are you from some variation of a Swap AU?”

“Swap? What’s a blueberry category?” He sits forward with interest at this vague sorting system. “How can I tell what kind of variant I am?”

“You are AU hopping and don’t even know what your own universe is. How do you know if the universe you are going to is safe? How do you plan to get back to your own universe?” Nightmare rambles disappointment evident in his voice. “You at least know what the abbreviations I am using mean don’t you?”

“Those, yeah, I was told those.” The little skele rubbed his arms. “Alternate universes… I wasn’t really supposed to leave mine so…”

“That will have to be a lesson for later. Maybe we can have Error read your code and figure out your AU.” Nightmare continues on, sitting in the chair by the bed and propping his foot up on his knee. “Were you injured before you got here, anything that needs to be treated?”

“No, just had a few scrapes and bruises but I didn’t see those anymore.” The little skele really wanted to ask more about other AUs and maybe who Error was, Ink may have mentioned him to Papyrus once. “I was told I heal pretty quickly.”

“We added a bathbomb to the bath earlier so anything minor like that was probably mended when we cleaned you up. Sorry you weren’t awake to enjoy it.” Nightmare propped his elbow up on the arm of the chair and rested his cheek on his palm. “How about soul wise? Your spine should not have cracked like that; your bones are too fragile. Is it injured, sick…”

“Uh, I don’t think…” The little skele reached down and pulled out his soul to take a look. “It…”

“What the hell!?” Nightmare shoved the small skele’s hand back to his chest forcing the soul back where it belonged. “What is wrong with you? Are you trying to get yourself killed? Why would you just pull out your soul?”

“Y-you asked?” The little skele stuttered confused.

“Wh-wh4t’s w1th th3 p4r-r-ty 1n th3 h4ll?” A glitching voice steps into the doorway. “Wh-wh0’s th-th1s?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Discussion of injury


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at bottom  
> Day Count: 1

“Hey Error!” Cross calls from the foot of the bed and notices a smaller skeleton dressed in a brightly colored jacket. “Fresh, it’s been awhile.”

“Sup, Cross.” Fresh peeks in the room with a nod to Cross but gingerly holds his right hand in his left. “Hey! Little Broski, you made it out of the scuffle and found your way here.”

“Wait! You know this Sans, Fresh?” Nightmare looks between the two smallest skeletons now gathered but quickly takes note of Fresh’s body language. “What happened?”

“F0und h-h1m w41t1ng 1n th3 ant1-v-v-v01d f0r m3.” Error motions for Fresh to come further into the room. “N33d t0 spl1nt-t-t h1s 4rm.”

“Have ya eaten recently, Fresh?” Horror peeks around the door frame into the room. “I can make something up real quick. Should probably start dinner soon but I can make something light.”

“I s’pose I could eat.” Fresh kind of shrugs. “No need to make anything special though.”

“I think we have some left over soup from the other night.” Horror thought about it for a second. “It should be light enough for ya. Are ya two staying for dinner?”

A conversation about what they should have for dinner ensues. They want to make it enticing enough to keep both Error and Fresh around for as long as they can. Nightmare lets the conversation continue as he gets Fresh to sit on the edge of the bed so he can look at the nasty break in Fresh’s ulna.

“Who twisted your arm?” Nightmare glares at the tiny skeleton huddled up at the headboard of the bed for the ill-timed joke and watches him duck his head.

“You can tell?” Fresh looks at the break as Nightmare covers it in healing gel.

“Sorry.” The little skele interrupts before Fresh can continue and brings his knees up to his chin. “Didn’t mean to pry.”

Nightmare looks at the break as he wraps it up. It was definitely a spiral fracture. Someone had literally twisted Fresh’s arm until it broke and now he could make out a suspicious discoloring in the odd shape of a fleshy handprint. This little skeleton saw that and even more impressively almost had Fresh opening up about it.

“Oh, hang on.” Fresh quickly went digging through his pockets when Nightmare released him. “I picked up one of my extra pairs when I skated through my verse.”

“Huh, you didn’t have to. They won’t look as cool on me.” The little skele protests as Fresh holds out a pair of black fingerless gloves. “I don’t have anything to give you.”

“You shared your rations with me when you hardly had enough for yourself bruh, it’s the least I can do.” Fresh continues to hold them out. “Pretty sure you lost your ration bag because of me too. Sorry ‘bout that.”

“I wasn’t going to leave you by yourself with an enraged fire elemental.” The little skele glares as if offended but hesitantly reaches for the gloves before he notices Nightmare out of the corner of his eye and can’t quite place the look he is being given. “Um, th-thank you.”

“Fresh, do you mind telling me why a fire elemental was mad at you?” Nightmare raises an socket ridge at the skeleton in question and his inquiry also draws the attention of a few of the other skeletons previously debating dinner.

“Oh, um, maybe a Grillby thought…” Fresh mumbles off inaudibly. “Little dude, saw…”

“Fresh.” Nightmare sighs. “You do not have to tell if you…”

“No, I don’t mind…” Fresh looks over to the small skele trying on the hand-me-down gloves. “If he doesn’t mind, cuz I have to tell a bit ‘bout our meeting.”

\------------

Fresh stumbled through his portal barely keeping it open long enough to slip through. That last AU had not had much in the way to scavenge and the Sans was not happy to find him there. So in his haste to escape he had not planned very thoroughly with his portal and did not have the magic to make another just yet. Instantly spotting some bins at the end of the alley he stumbles over to them to see what offerings are to be found. A skeletal hand quickly slaps down on the lid before he wraps his fingers around the handle.

“Wait. Sorry.” A small Sans whispers as Fresh jerks away. “I didn’t…”

“Look, dude, I’ll leave.” Fresh quickly fumbles for word. “Just need to recharge.”

The little skele looks around quickly like he is expecting something to get him from the surrounding shadows. “If you are hungry, I had a good haul yesterday. It’s just… These have traps on them, sorry, I messed up and the owner knows I was going through them so…”

_Oh, the little dude was trying to…help him?_ Fresh looks at the cans and can see the telltale signs of trap lines he had previously overlooked in his exhaustion. Devastated at the thought of having to go searching for a better scavenging site in his state Fresh crumbles against the wall behind him and buries his head in his arms. The crinkle of paper causes him to slightly raise his head enough to see half a candy bar being held out to him. Past the candy bar, he can see the same small skele looking around anxiously.

“Um, I’m sorry, you look tired but you, you shouldn’t stay here. It would be safer if… um just a bit further back.” The little skele looks unsure as Fresh doesn’t move. “I promise it’s safe to eat, I only broke off a small bite to test it… I will keep a look out while you eat but will leave when you want me to.”

“You’ll stay?” Fresh looks skeptically as the skeleton falters under his stare. “Are you sure?”

Getting a nod from the unsure skeleton, Fresh carefully takes the candy bar. As he takes a bite, the other seems to brighten up and stands to look out the mouth of the alley. The chocolate is good and he can feel a bit more magic coming back to him. It brought back enough of his senses to look back up at the skeleton standing sentry.

He clutches tightly to the strap of a messenger bag slung over his shoulder. Definitely not dressed for the Snowdin weather of a nicer AU and he had definitely ended up in one of the Fell verses and this was not the native Sans. His back was turned towards him as if he isn’t worried about Fresh doing anything. Then he turns sharply to him.

“We need to move. Patrol will see us here.” He looks really unsure. “You can lean on me if you need to… I mean if it doesn’t bother you… I mean I…”

“I think I can walk, if you could help me up.” Fresh watched the frantic movements of the skele in front of him. “If you don’t mind grabbing my hand that is. I have gloves on.”

With another glance over his shoulder out the alley the little skeleton nods and rushes over to take Fresh’s hand. A bit overeagerly but thankfully not painfully Fresh is pulled to his feet and released hesitantly. The skeleton points back to a spot behind some large boxes and rushes ahead. When Fresh catches up he sees him holding open a tarp flap and is hit with a puff of warm air.

“Heat vent.” The skeleton points to the vent smiling and motioning Fresh inside. “They just look in the alley. They won’t search.”

“Thanks.” Fresh sits back in a corner as the other scurries in. “For the food and shelter.”

“You looked like you needed it.” The little guy starts sorting through his bag. “I don’t have much but I can go look for more later.”

A pang of guilt hit Fresh as the realization hit him. This Sans was in a similar situation to him with very limited resources and he just took his hard found food. He probably doesn’t even know who Fresh is or he wouldn’t be so nice to him. Would he kick him out for the guards to find and regret his generosity if he knew?

“Are you stuck in this universe?” Fresh asks deciding not to risk it. “Once I rest up I can open a portal somewhere else for you.”

“You can!? Ha, that’s so cool.” He goes from really excited to very reserved really quickly. “I can’t ask that though. It takes a lot of magic right?”

“…” Fresh can feel himself blushing at the complements. “It’s the least I could do, dude, you really helped me out… not many people do.”

The little skeleton quickly busies himself with his bag again reorganizing it and then looking around the small shelter. They could both lay down in here without touching if they wanted to but not stand up. Yet several bottles of water are pulled from somewhere hidden and he is handing one over while two others were packed in the bag. A thought suddenly crosses his mind and he glances around until he finds the light source that allowed him to see even through his sunglasses.

“I…I can show you a good place to scavenge here.” He tightens his grip on the bag. “It really is more about time than place though.”

===

Fresh has wondered off on his own after spending two days with the little skeleton hoping to find something to thank the guy. He has been able to find out that the reason the skeleton refused a portal was that he did not know where his home universe was but wouldn’t talk about it. For some reason the Sans was treated like a pariah much like he was but couldn’t figure out why. It was not really his business to pry into any of this especially since the other did not pry into any of his business.

With a sigh Fresh was hoping to find some kind of treat he could repay the hospitality at least a little bit with. They both share equally everything that they find even when Fresh can’t find anything as good as the other. The other would always be excited though. These thoughts distract Fresh until a crackling sound cuts through them.

“What the *duck* do you think you are doing?” The censoring of his words causes enough of a pause in the purple elemental for someone to pull Fresh away. “*Darn* it.”

“This way.” The small skeleton has his sleeve sprinting them back towards the alley they slept in as fire balls fly around them. “Don’t stop moving.”

The skeleton checks on him over his shoulder and his eyes grow big. Fresh is tugged in front of the smaller with enough attention to see a fireball hit the messenger bags strap and burn right through it sending it skittering off. Slowing Fresh felt a hand on his back directing him forward. By some luck the Sans of this universe is coming out of a portal as they come into the alley and is not paying as much attention as he probably should have been. The sight of the Sans causes Fresh to hesitate but the smaller takes him by the sleeve again. They emerge among a crowd of Sans and Papyrus trying to all go through numerous portals.

\-----------------

“Not really sure how but we got separated.” Fresh looks over to the half-asleep little skeleton that he had lost in that crowd. “That was about two weeks ago.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Injuries


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at bottom
> 
> Day Count: 1

Nightmare rubs at his face after Fresh’s story. This new skeleton’s situation was more like Fresh’s situation rather than any of his other boys. How had he misread so much about a Sans? Sans were known for their secrets but Nightmare was known for being able to read any creature he came across.

Unaware of his intense staring until Error steps in front of him, Nightmare watches the glitching skeleton approach the bed. The little skele raises his head slightly from where he has been trying to make himself small under Nightmares glare. Error stuffs his hands in his pockets and cocks his head to the side.

“Wh4t’s th4t-t-t 0n y0ur-r-r wr1st?” Error inquires and the little skele quickly looks down at his wrists where an orange string was tied around his left. “C4n 1 s33?”

“Doctor’s from my AU said it would help.” The little skele stares at it a moment before holding out his arm to Error.

The little skele makes an indignant sound as Error put a phalange under the bracelet and snaps it off. Error twists it between his fingers for a minute studying it before holding it out towards Nightmare who instantly realizes Error’s interest in it. Something that had not even registered as important to anyone currently in the hideout. The small bit of string was pumped full of magic that gave off a false sense of LV. Nightmare does something he should have done the moment this Sans stepped out in that AU, he CHECKED him.

Skeleton

HP 16/20

LV 1

EXP 0

ATK 0

DEF -

Wonders what is going to be done with him.

Needs care. Doesn’t expect to get it.

\--

\--

Now odd stats were kind of on par for being a Sans but there were usually still some consistencies that this Sans was refusing to follow. With no EXP his HP should be sitting at around 1. So should his ATK and DEF but that was deceptive anyways but having no defense stat was odd. The flavor text was common to only get the first two lines until the other opened up to you. This Sans also gave no recognition that he was being CHECKED. Also…

“I can’t sense him.” Nightmare furrows his brow. “Like he has no emotion.”

“M9 s-s-str1ngs d0n’t w4nt t-t0 gr4b h1s s0ul 31ther-r-r.” Error reaches out towards the small skele again to see him flinch but not pull away. “Just-t-t g01ng t0 r34d y0ur-r-r c0d3.”

“Oh, my code, so you can find my AU?” The little skele looks unsure but nods. “Okay.”

“Why does his code look like that?” Nightmare watches over Error’s shoulder as he seems to tear a hole in reality. “I can hardly read it.”

“Wh4t-t-t c0l0r 1s y0ur-r-r m4gic?” Error looks to the little skele behind the tear. “M0st S4ns h4ve blu3 or-r-r r-r3d.”

“No color, it’s clear.” The small skele is definitely becoming uncomfortable with the topic of his magic being brought up again. “But I can’t use it.”

“Can’t or won’t?” Nightmare crosses his arms. “Wasn’t your summoned ecto blue earlier?”

“Dinner is ready.” Horror pokes his head in the door. “Dust is setting the table. Ya are joining us aren’t ya Error.”

Caught a little off guard at the offer, Error blushes a bit and nods. The gang always went to great lengths to make sure he ate even though he didn’t necessarily need to. Cross holds his hand out to Fresh and when he has his hand, takes off for the dining room dragging the smaller behind him. The little skele watches enviously as they all file out of the room, happy that these guys cared so much for the colorful skeleton that had treated him kindly. So he is surprised when he moves to lay down and a tentacle wraps under his arms pulling him from the bed. Once in the air he holds tight like a drowning man in a life preserver.

“You haven’t eaten all day; your body needs the magic to heal properly.” Nightmare carried the too light skeleton next to him. “Error copied your code to read later. He will figure some things out… You all right?”

The small skele is shaking his head hard pulling himself up on Nightmare’s tentacle. “This is weird… I want to touch the ground.”

“What? Not used to being carried?” Nightmare teases but notices the distress on the others face and lowers him to the ground. “Alright, should have asked first. You alright now?”

“Sorry.” The little skele keeps his head down and rubs hard at his humerous. “No, no one carries me… um, can I really have something to eat? I mean I know I haven’t done anything yet and kind of lied about how useful I was but…”

“Stop. Of course you can have some food. Horror wouldn’t allow his worst enemy to go hungry, first of all.” Nightmare’s concerns only grew the more he learns about this skeleton. “Second, whether he realizes it or not, Fresh is one of mine and I take care of mine. Come.”

Once outside the door Nightmare glances back to see if the little skele is following. Satisfied that he is, they head to the dining room where everyone else has already picked their seats at the large table. Just like when he was leading him through the halls asking him questions Nightmare never saw him glance around but merely watch the feet walk in front of him. Though his head does come up when the smell of the dinner Horror cooked starts to permeate through the hall.

“Hey, there you two are.” Horror almost collides with Nightmare as he is about to come out of the dining room. “Already made you plates. You are next to Error, kiddo.”

Nightmare goes and takes his place at the head of the table. Horror is to his left followed by Killer, and then Dust. At Nightmares right is Error, an empty seat, Fresh and then Cross. Careful of the twinge it causes the small skeleton climbs up into his chair and slightly jumps when Error scoots his chair up.

“Thank you.” The little skele looks around the table one more time before looking down to his own plate, full plate.

This much he could ration off of for a week. Was he supposed to eat all of this now? This was even bigger than the portions his health conscious Papyrus would recommend. Everyone has already started to eat and he is just now picking up his fork. Penne with some type of red sauce and still hot, with a good texture.

“1 h4ve b33n t0ld-d-d 1t 1s b3tt3r 3nj0y3d 1f y0u summ0n-n-n y0ur-r t0ngu3.” Error leans over close enough to whisper conspiratorially after watching the small skele take a few bites. “Y0u c-c-c4n 3nj0y y0ur-r-r d1nn3r.”

“…” The little skele glances around the table to make sure no one else is paying attention before in his own nervous whisper. “Are you sure it’s okay if I summon my tongue? I don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable.”

It had been this very group that had taught Error how to enjoy what he was eating instead of just consuming for the simple purpose of survival. So now with a bit more intrigue Error nods his head sure no one at the table will mind the kid summoning his tongue so he can taste his food. With way more excitement than nervousness the kid focuses on getting his tongue to summon, it takes longer than Error thinks it should. Then the kid stares at the few noodles skewered on his fork with apprehension. Error takes the moment to inconspicuously draw Nightmare’s attention. As soon as his teeth close around the fork they see his eyes noticeably shift. It is with noticeable restraint that the fork goes back to the plate for more.

“This is really good.” The small skele directs at Horror in a reserved voice, when there is a lull in the conversation and Horror’s cheeks flush at the compliment. “Thank you.”

“Nothing special.” Horror scratches at the blush trying to will it away. “Glad you like it.”

Teasing soon ensues and Horror takes it in stride but gets some of his own jabs in at the others. After everyone starts settling back down and finishing off their serving Horror glances back at the little skele still very much enjoying his cooking. Yet he starts taking note of things he was used to seeing in his own AU before he realizes he is doing it. This kid was highly under nourished, his color and probably the fragility of the bones could attest to that. The way the kid was enjoying the food spoke volumes on the quality of food he has been able to have, does he have a poor cook for a brother, which is common among the AUs. It definitely rubs Horror’s instincts wrong.

Hardly half way through the plate in front of him the kid is slowing down but still steadily eating. He is feeling full but no one else has left anything on their plates and did not seem to be saving anything for later. Wasting any of it was completely out of the question so he just keeps savoring every slow bite.

“Hey Fresh, why don’t we have a cuddle pile in the living room, it has been forever.” Cross has his hands together in begging fashion and uses the big eyes on his smaller counterpart. “We can watch movies and get all the pillows and blankets… Nightmare! You will join us too right!?”

“At least for one movie.” Nightmare agrees before the big eyes can be turned on him. “But you are not staying up all night.”

“Yes!” Cross pumps his fist in the air. “Let’s go!”

With all of the plates finished Killer collects everything and heads to the kitchen to wash dishes since it is his turn. Nightmare and Error still sit at the table discussing things and catching up with each other. The small skele watches as everyone else runs out of the room to gather all the blankets and pillows they could get their hands on but stays put where they sat for dinner. It isn’t until there is the sound of furniture being dragged that Nightmare gets up to head into the living room. Error goes to follow but notices that the skeleton that was sat beside him is looking around anxiously trying to figure out what to do. So Error pulls out his chair and nods towards the living room hoping the other gets the idea. He hears scrabbling and then clicking of bone on floor as he leads the way to the next room.

Nightmare has moved all of the larger furniture to the edge of the room while Cross runs through a door across the room with so many pillows he can’t see past them, followed by Dust with blankets in the same predicament. Horror starts unloading them creating a large nest for everyone to lay around in. Error walks over to a love seat and claims it for the night. The little skele is not feeling very well after forcing himself to eat so much and climbs up on the couch that has been pushed back so he is out of the way.

“Fresh, you go ahead and pick the movie.” Dust instructs hoping he can prevent Cross from picking the same movie again, those songs were still stuck in his head. “I think we have the nest almost set up.”

The little skele leans over on the arm of the couch and curls up as small as he can to continue to watch everyone work. Even with all the noise he would have dozed off if his magic wasn’t aching in protest of his overeating. So he notices when Nightmare plops down on the other end of the couch to watch the room. When Nightmare’s stare falls on him, he subtlety makes himself a little smaller.

“You sho…” Nightmare begins only for Cross to turn to him with pouty eyes.

“Aren’t you going to join the cuddle pile Nightmare?” Cross has left space between himself and Killer who is lazing against Horror’s side. “You were busy the last few times.”

“Alright, I will this time.” Nightmare rises from the couch and sits in the middle of the nest using his tentacles to rearrange everyone before glancing back to the small skele, who flinches hard at the thought of being pulled among the rest of the skeletons. “Did you get the movie set up, Fresh?”

It is half way through a second movie when most of the skeletons in the room have fallen asleep in the nest. The little skele has rolled over tucked as close to the back of the couch as possible trying to force sleep. Error is working on knitting a doll reclined in the chair he claimed. While Nightmare is still awake monitoring the sleep of his boys that have fallen asleep. Then there is a stir as someone attempts to unbury himself from the pile.

“I need something to drink, anyone else need anything?” Horror whispers getting to his feet.

“I think we are good.” Nightmare glances at Error who is too focused on his doll to answer. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” Horror stops his walk to the kitchen when he glances down at the small skele still awake on the couch. “Hey, ya alright? Ya don’t look good.”

The small skele jolts at the voice so close addressing him. Trying to master his expression back into a lazy grin instead of the strained grimace he could feel he has been wearing he glances up. It is obviously not fooling the larger skeleton and he drops his chin back to the arm of the couch with a bit of a sigh.

“I’m fine.” The small skeleton tries to uncurl himself from the tight ball he had managed to tuck himself into. “Not used to so much.”

“Do ya need anything from the kitchen?” Horror offers once more. “I don’t mind grabbing it.”

“Nah, but I appreciate it.” He curls back up. “Good night.”

Horror pulls a loose blanket from the nest and drapes it over the little skele causing him to jump again at the sudden feeling. He figures maybe the little guy is probably just cold not all wrapped up with everyone else, not even a jacket to curl up in or socks. After the skele loosens up under the blanket he continues on to the kitchen with a bit of a nagging feeling in the back of his skull.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: signs of starvation/malnutrition


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning at Bottom
> 
> Day Count: 2

Unsurprisingly Nightmare is the first to wake even though he was one of the last to fall asleep. It was an uncommonly quiet night with no cases of insomnia or night terrors. Even Error and Fresh are still asleep and not sneaking off to who knows where before they can be convinced otherwise. So untangling himself from the sleeping limp bodies he glances back to the small skele on the couch intending to give him a quick glance before going to start breakfast. Like the time he had seen him asleep before the little skeleton slept like there was no worries in the world but he knew better and that was only the tip of the iceberg. This young skeleton is damaged in ways he did not know yet and he can tell he is going to be much like the rest of his boys. He is in for a long road of recovery. For now, Nightmare will let him sleep like the baby bones he is sprawled out like; shirt bunched up showing off his lower ribs, arms limp around his head, and blanket barely covering his waist and one leg.

The smell of pancakes a little while later starts to rouse some of the sleeping lumps in the nest. As Killer rubs his eyes he looks at the bodies around him and glances to the kitchen door figuring from the smell that breakfast is almost ready. Reaching around to the ones he can get to he starts shaking shoulders to help wake everyone from their slumber. It is not an easy task as Horror and Cross are heavy sleepers that hardly wake to anything. Having roused Dust, Killer passes off the duty to wake Cross as he contemplates how to wake Horror.

“What about the others?” Dust yawns as he pulls out a Hershey’s kiss to tempt Cross into consciousness. “Do we let Error and Fresh sleep as long as they can?”

“Yeah, let Nightmare decide on them. Not sure how to wake Error with his haphephobia and Fresh might be a bit jumpy.” Killer whaps Horror in the face with a pillow, only getting a slow blink as a response, but waking him none the less. “Morning.”

Horror gives a mumbled response that sounds vaguely like a ‘morning’ in return. Cross snatches up the chocolate before even opening his eyes and inhales it before looking around the room to see what is going on around him. While Horror gets his revenge for the rude awakening by swinging a pillow at Killer as he stood; Cross is reminded of the small skele asleep on the couch when he sees the extra body up there.

“Let ‘em sleep.” Horror instructs as he goes to walk by the skeleton. “I think he was the last of us to fall asleep.”

“I was just thinking how adorable he looks sleeping like that.” Cross tosses the blanket back over the exposed bones causing the smaller to roll back over to the back of the couch. “Oops… he looks so much younger when he is sleeping… You don’t think he lied about his age do you?”

“Error got his code, so he can double check.” Killer assures as Dust huffs out of the room. “Don’t worry too much about it.”

“I have to go talk to Nightmare.” Horror rubs Cross’s head as he heads out of the room.

“What kind of universe do you think his AU is?” Cross looks anxiously at Killer. “He said that he was _told_ he was a ‘Bad Sans’ not that he was supposed to be one.”

“Nightmare will figure it out.” Killer puts an arm over Cross’s shoulders and leads him to the kitchen. “We’ll do what we can for him.”

“…familiar with the signs, especially in a skeleton.” Horror chats with Nightmare as he finishes the pancakes as the others walk in. “Severe signs of malnutrition.”

“Do you think we can convince Fresh to stay awhile? Get plenty of sleep and food in him to last awhile if he insists on not staying here with us.” Killer asks letting go of Cross to go get the toppings everyone liked for their pancakes. “Maybe Error, too? We left them sleeping with the small Sans out in the living room.”

“Hmm, well they know they have rooms here for them to stay as long as they want but we can always try to drop some more hints.” Nightmare flips the last pancake perfectly in the pan. “The plates are ready in the oven… Cross, Dust you have assignments for today. Hurry up and get to the table to eat.”

“Yes, sir.” Cross salutes grabbing his and Dusts plates from the oven. “Dust, got your…”

“Mind setting the table?” Nightmare looks to the two remaining skeletons. “I will wake our guests.”

Nightmare leaves the kitchen as the two begin transporting everything to the table. Fresh is already waking up on his own when Nightmare comes into the room. It is a bit of a relief to see that Fresh is not in a rush when he replaces his glasses over his eyes. When he catches Fresh’s attention he nods over to the smaller skeleton and Fresh moves to wake him. Careful so he does not startle the larger skeleton and placing himself so he can get away just in case his caution was in vain, Nightmare gently taps the couch to wake Error up. Error must have been having decent sleep because he hardly even recoiled as he pops his eyes open.

“Breakfast is ready.” Nightmare informs as Error pushes himself up. “Would you li…”

“Woah, easy little dude, easy.” Fresh held his hands up in a calming gesture as whimpering comes from the bundle of struggling blankets. “Let me help you get out, bruh.”

By the time Nightmare gets to the side of the couch Fresh has gotten the blanket off the little skele’s head and they can see empty sockets. Not knowing why he is panicking Nightmare motions for Fresh to step a safe distance back but as soon as pressure was put on his shoulder the little skeleton goes completely rigid lying on his back. No tears can be seen on his face but hiccupping sobs are racking his chest. Slowly pulling away from the small skele Nightmare watches him carefully.

“Bruh, you a’ight?” Fresh asks moving forward again. “You awake?”

The small skele’s eye lights flicker several times before they stay on but he still does not move. Cautiously Nightmare pulls the blanket off the small shivering body. Now free he slowly stops his shaking and with just his eyes he looks around. It looks like he tried several times to say something but nothing was coming out, until…

“…sorry…” The small skele was slowly bringing his hands up to clutch his shirt over his sternum. “…”

“S’okay, bruh, you didn’t do anything.” Fresh still looked uncertain on how to help. “Just thought you would like some chow.”

Nightmare sees the shaking eye lights trying to focus on him. “I made you a plate. Some of the others are already eating.”

“’Kay.” Eye lights falling away from everyone the little skele slowly draws himself up to slide off the couch. “Thanks…”

Nightmare carefully leads the small skeleton out of the living room and into the dining room where Dust and Cross are getting up to get ready for their missions. Error goes to Fresh who is hesitating to follow; not knowing if it is because of what just happened or something else Error waits for Fresh to speak first. It doesn’t take long for Fresh to look over to Error.

“I didn’t think much of it back then but he was always very careful not to touch anyone in any way. He only helped me after making absolutely sure I was okay with it. Even when he rescued me he was careful not to directly touch me.” Fresh furrowed his brow in thought. “It is different from you. Like you don’t like being touched but for him it is like he is used to others reacting particularly unrad to his touch… He couldn’t move when he woke up because of the blanket, that’s why he panicked but even though he offered me blankets in his shelter he didn’t use ‘em… Should I have told Nightmare more ‘bout this.”

“Y0u w3r3 just r-r-r3sp3ct1ng h1s pr-r-r1v1cy.” Error assured moving them to the dining room. “H3 d03sn’t kn0w h3 c4n-n-n trust us y3t…”

“All those uncool rumors they spread about us.” Fresh’s expression fell from worry to sadness. “They never understand or try or…”

“Fresh, you alright?” Nightmare caught them at the door having felt the turmoil in the skeleton. “Do you need anything?”

Fresh takes a deep breath to calm himself down and shakes his head. It wasn’t him who had thrown himself into a panic upon waking up and he didn’t feel right taking attention from the small skele who probably needed it more. So he moves to head into the dining room where Killer and Horror were arguing over what the best toppings were, probably having started off telling the new little skeleton what to try. Yet Fresh instantly sees the troubled look on the little dude’s face. Knowing he would not want the attention of everyone on him if he was upset he steps up next to him carefully and touches the arm of the chair to get his attention.

“Something wrong, little bruh?” Fresh whispers as the little skele rubs harshly at his humerous as he looks up. “They won’t get mad if you ask for something.”

“Oh, um, it’s not…” The little skele mumbles as Nightmare takes his seat. “What did I do wrong?”

The room goes quite; apparently everyone had been listening in more than they were letting on, and the little skele tucks his head down between his shoulders. He does not know if he can leave to escape the situation or even where he could even go if he did. Letting out a whimper as Nightmare’s tentacle grabs his hand away from his arm he looks over to the head of the table.

“You are hurting yourself.” Nightmare saw the dust powdering the borrowed shorts the small skeleton wore. “Why do you think you have done something wrong?”

“I-I-I’m not ungrateful. This is enough…” The little skele notices Killer leave the table but everyone else is staring at him. “Jus-s-st, it’s just…”

“Ya can have more if ya are still hungry after ya finish what ya have.” Horror suddenly noticed the portion on the little skele’s plate was smaller than the rest of the plates. “Noticed ya made yerself sick last night trying to finish yer plate.”

“Before last night, when was the last time you had anything to eat?” Nightmare gave the hand in his tentacle a gentle squeeze as the small skele has to actually contemplate his answer. “Too long… Horror told me you seemed to have made yourself sick trying to finish all your food last night. Although we want you to eat your fill, we do not want you to think that you have to eat everything put in front of you even if it makes you sick.”

Horror feels incredibly sympathetic to the skeleton sitting across from him, food is a serious subject for him and it seems to be a concerning concept for the other. Killer returns with a jar of healing gel in his hand and kneels down next to the little skele’s chair. Noticing what is going on the little skele goes to argue but is quieted by a look from Killer who makes quick work of the raw area on his arm even pulling a roll of bandages from his jacket pocket. Fresh grew concerned wondering where his small friend had ended up after they were separated, he had caused him to lose all his supplies in their escape and he may not have been able to collect replacements.

“I guess I should have explained before we got to the table.” Nightmare releases the small hand from his tentacle. “We will start you off with small portions until we are sure your magic can handle more… We know you are an adult but…”

“No, that’s not it.” The little skele knew he had looked confused and watches his hands worry the hem of his shirt instead of his arm. “You… you are letting me stay?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: implied starvation/malnutrition. Self-abuse. Panic attack.
> 
> How is Error's speech? It is interesting to type but how easy is it to read?


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day Count: 7

“You’ve been here a week.” Killer stands in the small skele’s door waiting for the owner of the room to finish putting on his shoes. “When are you going to decorate your room?”

“My room?” The small skele looks around. “Well… I don’t really have anything to decorate it with…”

There really isn’t much to the room they provided him. His bed is an oversized queen sized bed like everyone else has in their room. It is placed in the middle of the wall across from the door. Then there is a dresser for clothes he doesn’t really have. Looking over his closet door is ajar showing yet more baron space to fill. He likes the dark circular rug he is sitting on though, it is soft and comfy. They had filled the bedside table with some emergency first aid supplies, a flashlight, and water.

“Well if you see anything you like while we are out just pick it up or let someone know.” Killer lifts the smaller to his feet. “Nightmare gave you your instructions right?”

“I’m supposed to be shadowing Cross since I still can’t use magic.” The little skele is getting used to being pulled from the ground although everyone was courteous enough to not prolong his suspension. “Cross says we stay out of sight for the most part but _shop_ when we need to.”

They head out to the living room where everyone else is congregating before the mission is to start. The coffee table was over laden with many sharp implements, mostly knives for throwing. Contemplating where to sit the small skele feels the back of his shirt grabbed and he is pulled down next to Cross, who laughs as he gently holds him from falling over. Again the contact is gentle and short as not to overwhelm him. No one pushes for too many answers either.

“How has your magic training been going?” Nightmare looks up from some of his paperwork and gets his answer when the little skele’s smile falls. “No matter. We don’t want you to gain LV anyways unless you want to and are completely prepared for it.”

“Sorry, it just doesn’t feel like what everyone says.” The little skele looks at his hands. “Maybe I am br…”

“None of that… You were trained to repress your magic and that has caused you to automatically do just that. Now that you want the opposite to happen it will take a while, especially if you have the magic of a typical Sans.” Nightmare put away his paperwork to focus on the others. “You three, same as usual. No crazy antics, watch your backs…” Horror, Dust, and Killer were now speaking along with Nightmare’s usual speech. “If anything feels off get out, do not get too far away… You know I would not repeat all of this if I did not see you doing any of it.”

All three of them smile as innocently as they can manage up at Nightmare from where they slouch on the couch. Nightmare is obviously not buying it in the least as he glares down at each of them. Cross is hiding behind the little skele’s back where he cannot completely hold back his giggling. Though it is soon his turn to be addressed by Nightmare.

“Your orders are much the same as usual. Do not let yourself become distracted. You are responsible for his safety while he is out there with you.” Nightmare looks between Cross and the little skele. “He does not have the experience to know better out there. Get out if you feel it necessary.”

“Yes, sir.” Cross salutes. “I will keep a good eye on our tiny Sans.”

“You still haven’t explained whether or not I really am small for my AU variety.” The little skele pouts at his size once again being pointed out. “When is someone going to explain some of that to me.”

“Yes that is something we still need to go over with you.” Nightmare sighs. “But that can’t happen today…Is everyone ready? Error is waiting.”

His boys jump up excitedly loading up everything from the table. Nightmare notices the newest little skele moved off to the side breathing in a way that told him he was trying to maintain a look of calm he is not feeling. The fact that Nightmare cannot just feel what this Sans was feeling still unnerved him but at the same time he was quite easy to read most of the time. Cross was quickly at the little skele’s side assuring him before Nightmare feels the need to. A glance around shows everyone ready.

Opening portals for everyone the room goes quiet looking to Nightmare. With a malicious looking grin Nightmare waves them on. Everyone disappears through a portal to their assigned destination to begin the mission. The little skele steps through after Cross and instantly screws his sockets shut due to the bright light beating down on them. Cross touches his arm that he didn’t realize he raised against the light.

“Have you never been to an AU that’s on the surface?” Cross asks studying the small skeleton but also tosses glances around to keep an eye out. “Keep trying to open your eyes and you will adjust to the light… Over here, it is shady and a good place to observe from.”

“Surface? Wait!” Sans tries to looks around only able to squint. “Is that really the sun?”

“No, this AU created a false sky, awesome though isn’t it?” Cross keeps a guiding arm across the small skeleton’s back. “Nasty place to visit actually. I wish we could enjoy it bit more but…”

“Oh, right! Sorry… look out duty.” The little skele lowers his gaze from the false sky and looks around to the chaos the others have started. “What kind of things are we looking for?”

“Groups of people looking like they are trying to do something mostly.” Cross looks the opposite direction of the little skele. “The others can fend off singular opponents that get the bright idea to try and fight back but organized groups that get the jump on them are more dangerous.”

The little skele nods and puts all his attention on the moving bodies all around them, not focusing on anyone enough to tell if they are human or monster because that was not important at the moment. The largest groups he sees are at most three or four running fearfully together to safety. Then a collapsing building draws his attention, none of the gang are over in that direction so it is not their doing and he steps in that direction. A dust cloud is obscuring a large cluster of buildings and making him feel unsure. Then there are shapes moving in the cloud making a larger dark blob.

“Cross!” The little skele calls out not knowing what exactly to make of what he is seeing. “Do you know what…?”

“Good job. That is definitely a group trying to do something.” Cross pats him on the shoulder joining him in watching the group and sending a quick message to update Nightmare. “Alright, it doesn’t look like any of the big threats are leading them… Here, simple stones, we are going to try and scare them into dispersing… I know you can’t use magic but hopefully they will just think they are bullets and will dodge or think they are more hurt than they are. Stay back enough that you are not in range of their attacks… We should have thought more about disguising you, here…”

Cross pulls out several things from his inventory as the little skele tried to pocket his stones and collect a few more. Hands still full he is surprised when Cross pulls a baseball cap over his head and tips his head back up to smear something onto his face. He has to close his socket as one of Cross’s fingers runs from above his socket to down over his cheekbone to the edge of his teeth.

“Hee-eyy” The little skele finally sputters trying to pull away. “What are you doing?”

“Well there’s nothing we can do about your size but in the heat of battle no one should really be able to tell.” Cross giggles wiggling his black stained finger. “Now you look like a scarred fell monster… If they even get close enough to see under the bill on the hat…”

“I look ridiculous, don’t I?” The little skele sighs.

“Eh, maybe a bit. Heehee, but you won’t be recognized.” Cross assures and then looks back at the approaching group. “Are you okay with this?”

Taking a deep relaxing breath, the little skele nods and readies himself to take off. He wants nothing more than to be useful to Nightmare’s gang but needs to follow Cross’s lead since this is all still very new to him. A glance over reveals that Cross has a large knife ready and noticing that he is being watched winks at his smaller. Then the group seems to be where Cross wants them and he jumps forward into the fray.

The small skele keeps to Cross’s back chucking rocks at anyone brave enough to try and attack the busy skeleton. Although the rocks connect with a few monsters causing them to drop from the immediate fight temporarily the little skele notices a monster circling them and something about their soul sets him on edge. As he goes to warn Cross of the odd behavior an attack causes him to misstep and move a few paces away from Cross. The suspicious monster tenses.

“Cross!” The small skele shoulder tackles Cross between his shoulder blades. “Look out!”

Off balance Cross swings himself about so his back is no longer to the danger but unable to act against the now revealed Undyne. Undyne is still mid swing bringing up a spear from an upward swipe but it is now aimed at cutting the small skeleton in half. Throwing an arm back the little skele manages to roll himself midair just enough for the spear to only catch the front of his shirt. His eyes go dark from the close call as Cross throws an arm over his shoulder and chest before he can hit the ground.

“Brace yourself.” Cross tugs the little skele through a tear in space. “Nightmare!”

“What happened?” Nightmare demands seeing the little skele being dragged bodily closer.

“Undyne set up an ambush.” Cross reports setting the little skele to sit between them as Nightmare looks out over the destruction. “There was a bit of a close call.”

Nightmare snaps his eyes back over to examine them and his sights land on the little skele’s torn shirt. The little skele is looking quite rattled as well and he growls out looking over to where that little skirmish had taken place to see the group heading for the main chaos. After a bit of tactical recalculation Nightmare looks to Cross.

“Go, keep an eye on Horror and Dust, Killer has gone off on his own and I am going to join him before Undyne finds him.” Nightmare watches Cross take off and the little skele get to his feet. “Not you. I am sending you back, we can’t keep an eye on you right now.”

“No, I want to help.” The little skele begs. “I can…”

Before he can argue his case Nightmare pushes him and he stumbles back through a portal. Falling onto the couch he jumps back up to rush back through but the portal is gone. Looking around he is all alone everyone still out on the mission and he has no way back to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So little skele's first mission.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at bottom
> 
> Day Count: 7
> 
> Found a moment to post this. Probably won't be able to do many of these weekend posts though. Hope you enjoy.

The little skele is sitting in the living room on the floor between the couch and coffee table. He is now exhausted from racing around the castle gathering what he thought might be needed when everyone else returned. After yelling for Nightmare not to leave him alone in the hideout while everyone else continued the mission for over ten minutes the little skele had gone around making sure there are at least two jars of healing gel, loads of bandages, and pain killers waiting for any injury he thought any of them could have suffered. When that had been done he pulled out all the hidden snacks from the entertainment center in case anyone needed a quick HP pick up. Several clean sheets and pillows are piled next to the couch as well. It has been at least two hours since he had been forced to return without anyone.

“Please be okay, please be okay…” The little skele chants hugging his knees up to his chin. “Please…”

Several dark portals opens up and no one walks through uninjured. Horror limps in dragging an axe in one hand and holding his ribs with the other. Cross wobbles over to the couch and the little skele jumps up to keep him up until he is close enough not to fall off the couch. Nightmare carries Dust cradled in a tentacle unconscious. Killer sits at the coffee table and starts eating some of the snack cakes.

“You prepared quite a bit.” Nightmare looks around grabbing a sheet to lay out on the couch for Dust next to Cross. “Good.”

“I’m okay, just need a bit of HP food.” Cross assures patting the little skele’s arm. “Can you pass me something good?”

The little skele turns to the table spotting some of the chocolate treats that Cross favors. Cross’s eyes brighten at the site but he doesn’t snatch it up with his usual vigor. Though once that is handed over the little skele stands looking for something he can do to help someone else. Nightmare is focused on Dust even though he has a bright arrow sticking out of his own shoulder but seems to have no need for assistance.

“Hey, why don’ ya bring some of those bandages over ‘ere.” Horror took mercy on the frantic skeleton. “I coul’ use a hand.”

Nodding the little skele grabs several rolls of bandages, one of the jars of healing gel, and a bag of chisps. Stepping over to the chair Horror is slumped over in he isn’t sure how to proceed, whether he should have Horror eat a bit first or to quickly get his injuries bandaged. Horror takes the bag of chisps and sets it next to him in the chair as the little skeleton watches him carefully. Taking off his jacket Horror then takes the healing gel to open it.

“Wanna help me patch up some of these.” Horror motions down at himself. “I coul’ use some help with my legs. Hurts to bend over right now.”

Horror holds the open jar so the little skele can get to it as he tends to his own arms. Of course he can tend to this all himself but it looks as if the little skele is going to fall apart if he is not given some way to help. Once given a purpose the kid becomes hyper focused setting the extra bandages next to Horror. There are only a few breaks and deep chips on his legs that need tending but he also has a few ribs to take care of and although his radius is still holding together on his left arm it is cracked all the way through.

“Killer… are ya going to need any help?” Horror pulls Killer from his eating daze. “That food isn’t going to fix everything.”

“A nice bath with one of those healing bathbombs should fix most of this.” Killer looks down at himself. “Sleep will fix some… I will need to splint the break to my femur… Damn insane creator.”

“I will get a good healing dinner going as soon as I am bandaged up.” Horror looks down as the little guy dips his hand into the jar to get a good dab of gel for one of the breaks on his leg. “Do ya have any preferences, kiddo?”

Killer watches with Horror as the little skele doesn’t seem to notice he is being spoken to. They look to each other not sure what to make of the smaller’s focus on the task. Horror moves the jar slightly as the small skele reaches for it again but it hardly deters him from tending to the next injury. Then he is wrapping the bandages snuggly but comfortably over the bones.

“Hey, kiddo, ya there?” Horror sees him react this time and look up in time to receive a firm tap to his cheek. “It’s okay, we have been worse we… Are ya blushing?”

“What!? We have been teasing him for days without getting a reaction.” Killer leans over the small skele to get a look at his face where only half his face is lit up in a red blush. “Is your magic acting up?”

“Oh, now it is over both cheeks.” Horror teases as Killer wipes off the ‘disguise’ painted on the smaller’s face and Cross is drawn over by the laughing. “Look his face is all lit up.”

“It’s so adorable.” Cross grabs a pillow to sit on next to the table.

“Don’t fill up on snacks Cross.” Horror finishes wrapping himself up. “I am going to fix a meal up now.”

The little skele looks as if he is going to follow Horror but stops half way to his knees. Still sensing something off Horror just pats the kids head as he goes by to encourage him to stay with the others. Killer gets to his feet with a bit of difficulty trying not to put too much pressure on the break in his femur.

“Can ya help Killer to a bath?” Horror grins at Killers offended glare. “Don’t want him falling over.”

“I am not invalid.” Killer sighs studying the little guy still kneeling on the floor looking lost in the post mission mess. “Let me lean on your shoulder to the bathroom. I can do the rest on my own.”

“Let him splint your leg once you get out.” Cross munches on another chocolate bar. “He did a good job on Horror.”

“We’ll see.” Killer feels the shorter duck under his arm cautiously. “Fine, fine.”

Killer blushes at having someone so much smaller than him acting as his crutch. Knowing that the small skele does not like contact for too long Killer starts heading to the closest bathroom with a bathtub instead of shower. At the door he pulls his arm off the other’s shoulders and watches him point towards his room.

“Just a shirt and shorts.” Killer understands and watches him take off.

He makes his way down the hall to the room he knew Killer occupied. The door is slightly ajar and he makes his way over to the dresser. Nightmare doesn’t let any of them leave their rooms a mess, although the mandatory cleaning day is still a few days off and Killer’s room has a few things lying around. Pulling out the clean clothes he quickly heads back to the bathroom and knocks on the door.

“Come in.” Killer is sitting on the edge of the tub filling it up. “Thanks… You doing okay?”

Handing over the clothes he looks up at Killer with a bit of a confused expression. Nodding he turns to leave the bathroom, closing the door behind him with a click that seems loud in the silent hall, but not sure what to do from there. Not seeing how he would be helpful back in the living room he decides to head to his room where he will be out of the way, door left open in case he is needed although it is unlikely.

Sitting on the floor so he can lean against the side of the bed the little skele returns to again studying the tear in the front of his t-shirt. He feels tired even though he has no real reason to feel so. Time escapes him as he waits for something to happen. When there is suddenly a squeak of floorboards at his door, likely done on purpose to warn him, considering how quiet all the other could be.

“Hey.” Dust looms in the doorway speaking quietly. “We need to talk.”

Dust’s face is half hidden in the shadow of his hood that is pulled up over his head. The little skele hesitates only a moment due to surprise considering how often Dust has gone out of his way this past week to avoid him. Remembering that he had been carried back from the mission the small skele hastens to go to the taller skeleton waiting for him to speak again.

“Follow me.” Dust turns and heads away from the living room. “This way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Injuries
> 
> Wonder what Dust wants?
> 
> Thanks again for all the interest.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He didn't mean to.
> 
> Warning at bottom.
> 
> Day Count: 7
> 
> Got a sec to post this, don't think I can keep up the weekend posting, I feel like I am not editing at my best.

The small skeleton is not a very good fighter. Although he is quiet skilled in dodging like many of his counterparts he is no match for Dust after at least an hour of constant moving. Exhausted and no magic to assist in his defense the little skele lays on his right side, back against the far wall from the door of the training room. He is making himself as small as possible left arm bent over the side of his head with the right guarding his face.

Everything hurt.

“Cross is like my little brother.” Dust had revealed his anger against him early on, his red ringed blue eye leaking magic. “And you put him in DANGER.”

At Dust’s last word the little skele goes limp on the ground, letting his arms fall away from his head. He meets Dust’s eyes for the first time since the first strike that had cracked the bone under his right socket. Most of Dust’s accusations had not made sense but this last one is definitely one he is aware of and understood. When Dust doesn’t strike at his unguarded form, he pushes himself up into a sitting position, it hurt.

“SAY SOMETHING!” Dust demands but doesn’t strike out again as the small skeleton struggled to his feet. “ANSWER ME!”

He understood. Dust is the only one who seems to have taken him seriously when he had told them all, he is dangerous. The avoidance was to keep enough distance to keep an unbiased eye light on him to make sure he is safe to be around them all. This skeleton has determined what he was afraid of from the beginning; he has no place here.

With the best smile he can manage through his pain the little skele holds his ribs with one hand and nods at Dust. Hardly able to lift his feet from the ground he shuffles his way out of the training room past the tense skeleton but is not stopped. Everyone makes their portals in the living room and he needs to leave. No one is in the living room anymore though. Pushing forward afraid he won’t be able to start going again if he stops, the little skele makes to head down another hall towards Nightmare’s office when a glitchy portal appears a few steps in front of him.

Error is walking out of the portal when the little skele skirts by him without touching. He is half way through the portal before Error can throw strings out to capture the skeleton and pull him back. There is only a moment of resistance before Error can bring his capture back to get a look at them.

“Wh4t th3…?” Error is too surprised at the skeleton in his strings to be gentle. “H-h-h3y! 1-1-1 n33d 4 h4n-n-nd!”

Horror burst out of the kitchen after making sure everything is off the stove and not going to burn. His one working eye light goes out as he sees the one skeleton who was not injured just a little while ago. The noise of Error clearing off half the coffee table brings Horror out of it as he steps forward to help as Error lays out a sheet. The little skele is unresponsive as he is set down on the table his legs from his knees down dangling off the table.

“Hey buddy.” Horror, much gentler than earlier after seeing the crack under the small skele’s socket, taps his face. “What happened to ya? Can ya tell me?”

“1 th-th-th0ught h3 w4s r-r-r3m0v3d fr0m th-th-th3 c0mb4t?” Error steps back to let Horror handle all the touching requirements. “Wh3r-r-r3 1s N1ghtm4re?”

“Don’t know, was cooking… Probably checking on the others.” Horror lifts the shirt that is sticking to the ribs of the skeleton on the table. “He wasn’t acting right earlier but we didn’t think he was injured. Cross would have said something…Come on, kid, who did this?”

“…look for him. Dust said…” Nightmare storms into the room stopping to figure out the scene he walked in on. “Damn… Cross, go to Dust and keep an eye on him.”

Horror is spreading a glob of healing gel on the spider web crack under the small skele’s socket when he notices the small skele’s eye lights are not out but very dim. The eye lights are watching him but Horror is not sure how clearly he is seeing him considering the shaking he can make out. He can’t tell if the little guy is scared, exhausted, in pain, or some combination of the three.

“Did someone slip in with us when we returned?” Horror asks as Nightmare approaches the table to assess the damage. “Do we need to do a sweep?”

“No. Dust’s LV flared up on him. Apparently it was building up on him for over a week now and manifested in paranoia.” Nightmare began sorting things to begin treatment and moves a tentacle to pet the top of the small injured skele’s head. “Instead of asking for help his paranoia decided to settle on this one… This last battle must have pushed him and he confronted him… You did nothing wrong.”

CHECK

Skeleton

HP 1/20

LV 1

EXP 0

ATK 0

DEF -

hurts, hurts, hurts, hurts…

too dangerous

-

-

“H3 w4s tr-r-ry1ng t0 l34v3.” Error informs still standing over the skeleton as well. “4lm0st-t-t snuck b9 m3.”

It takes several minutes to convince the little skele to answer even yes or no questions with simple head movements. Horror can’t be convinced to return to making dinner until Killer comes back in from his bath and steps in to make sure Nightmare has an extra hand if he needs it. It becomes clear rather quickly that Dust had done quite the number on the little skele who had done very little to defend himself. Nightmare catalogs the injuries as he tends to them: spider web crack under right socket, both arms have cracks to the ulna and radius, left hand has breaks from metacarpals to carpals, right side of ribcage covered in bruising as well as cracks, left side of ribcage at least four shattered ribs, left femur broken, right tibia and fibula broken.

“Come on, a bite or two before Horror finishes dinner.” Killer dangles chisps close to the small skele’s teeth. “It will make you feel better, not much but your HP is sitting too low.”

“I didn’t see anything but is his jaw and spine alright?” Nightmare is tending to the legs and working his way up. Killer looks and shakes his head no after finding nothing. “Eat.”

“1-1-1 n33d t0 r-r-run 4 d14gn0st1c ch-ch3ck 0n 4n 4U.” Error stands from where he had been out of the way reading data. “N33d 4nyth1n-n-ng, w0n’t t4k3 l0n-n-ng?”

“Just be back for dinner. We can discuss that mission afterwards.” Nightmare sets his tentacles to work on the arms while he uses his hands to take care of the delicate process of setting the ribs. “This isn’t going to be pleasant but I need you to be still so I don’t make it worse. Keep your breathing steady.”

Killer has the kid taking small bites of a strawberry swirl snack cake but those dim eye lights are shakily and undeniably watching Nightmare. Error looks down at the little skele as he opens a portal but seeing no move to try and even get up he hurries to leave. Worried about the small skele’s reaction to having bone set Nightmare does another CHECK.

Skeleton

HP 6/20

LV 1

EXP 0

ATK 0

DEF -

hurts, sorry, hurts, sorry, hurts…

I don’t mean to be dangerous

-

-

“Try to get him to take some pain killers. It won’t stay ahead of the pain but it will help him settle back down afterwards.” Nightmare sees the worry cross the little skele’s features but hears no arguments. “You are doing good. Shouldn’t take too much longer… Horror should be done with dinner soon, and after that you can rest as long as you want.”

“Come here…should we move to the couch first.” Killer has the shoulders and head of the smaller in his lap, propped up enough to sip from a water bottle encase his magic doesn’t dissolve the medicine fast enough, that is gross. “I can hold him like this to help keep him still while you set the bones.”

“No damage to his spine so that will probably be better.” Nightmare lifts both skeletons just enough to place them on the couch a few feet away but the smaller still stiffens uncertainly. “I have to cut this glove off as well.”

A whimper, the first sound the small skele has made in hours, and it is at being told the glove Fresh had gifted him would have to be destroyed. Nightmare looks at the hand again but there really is no way around it, the glove s going to be destroyed one way or another, cutting it off is just going to be the easiest on the little skele in the long run. Reaching over for some scissors Nightmare takes a deep breath to try to say something reassuring but Killer beats him to it.

“It’s alright, Fresh won’t be mad about this. If you refuse to let your hand be treated because you are more worried about the glove, I think he would feel more guilty that it prevented treatment.” Killer adjusts the skele so he laid between his legs with his arms over his femurs, head resting on his summoned ecto-stomach. “Just lie back and let Nightmare take care of your injuries. At least finish off this snack cake… There we go. We’ve got you.”

Although most Sans are the older brother it never fails to amaze Nightmare when Killer takes up that role to soothe the others. They are his boys and anything that breaks them out of that mold the AUs, Ink, or his brother tried to fit them into made him proud. Not that they could show the rest of the multiverse this side of them.

Pushing aside the unnecessary thoughts Nightmare removes the glove so his tentacles can get back to work and he can focus on the ribs now that the medicine has had a few minutes to be absorbed by the little skele’s magic. Just as he sets the first rib with a swift shift of bone it causes the small skele to… flinch… Nightmare looks up to his face and it definitely denotes severe pain as his sockets squeeze shut and he tries to bury into Killer’s shirt but no sound or abundant movement. Instead of wasting more time he takes advantage of this reaction and swiftly puts the ribs back into order. Then slathers on the healing gel and tedious bandages, why is this Sans so small.

“Food’s ready.” Horror announces as Nightmare sits back to assess his handiwork. “Been ready for a few but didn’t wanna interrupt.”

“I don’t think he’s making it to the table.” Killer informs cradling the kid’s head in the crook of his arm noticing the slight tremors racing through him. “Think we can feed him real quick right here and…”

“I will get him to his room afterwards. He will probably feel safest there.” Nightmare moves to leave the living room. “I am going to get the others to head straight for the dining room… Eat and then rest, everyone.”

“Here kiddo, just some thick soup, nothing too difficult.” Horror brings the lip of the bowl he brought in to the little skele’s teeth. “Ya look dead tired. Eat and you can go to bed.”

\-------------------------

CHECK

Skeleton

HP 13/15

LV 1

EXP 0

ATK 0

DEF -

hurts, sorry, sorry, sorry…

trying not to be dangerous

-

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Injuries, tending to injuries.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't think I have any warnings this time. Little skele is still injured but being taken care of.
> 
> Day Count: 8

The little skele wakes to his injuries definitely crying out their displeasure at how he is curled up to sleep but making him too stiff to want to move. Like usual a slight chill is on any bone not immediately curled up towards his core since he had kicked off the restraining blankets some time in his sleep. Fog of sleep clearing further from his mind he feels another source of warmth he had gravitated towards. Slowly he glances up past the arm his head is resting on, following it up to a shoulder and then face.

“You know, you are quite cuddly in your sleep.” Cross giggles when he looks down to see his smaller awake. “If you want I will move away but you got a bit clingy, which I don’t mind, but I also isn’t sure I could maneuver you off without hurting you. You don’t have to let go, if you don’t want too, just don’t hold on too tight.”

Cross is laying on his back now to give him room to escape. The smaller has his arms wrapped around the taller’s ribs in a loose grip that is probably all the broken limbs could manage. One of Cross’s legs is also trapped in the others legs. The little skele wants nothing more than to snuggle closer for comfort but he suppresses his moment of weakness and detangles his limbs so the other can escape.

“Your face is lit up purple!” Cross sounds a mix of enthused and concerned at the realization. “Isn’t it red yesterday?”

Remembering the reaction yesterday, the little skele quickly hides his head under his pillow. Becoming a bit concerned the little skeleton might be trying to suffocate himself in his embarrassment, Cross attempts to pry up the pillow at least enough to ensure the other is getting enough air. A soft knock at the door interrupts both of their attempts with the pillow.

“We’re both awake.” Cross announces and Killer opens the door. “He just woke up, is dinner ready?”

The little skeleton moves a little too quickly at the announcement that he had missed at least two meals. Cross quickly and gently pulls him back down to tremble slightly in his hold. Pulling a pillow under his smaller’s head and grabbing another for him to hug to his chest Cross gives him room to breathe. He looks to be in enough pain to be in tears but his sockets are dry.

“Here there’s some water and painkillers in the nightstand for him.” Killer hurries over pulling open the drawer. “Help him sit up.”

The small skele shook his head at Cross’s offer to help him up but hesitantly points just to the painkillers that Killer has pulled out for him. Killer offers two pills into the outstretched hand and watches carefully as the shaky digits take just one to place the pill visibly between his teeth; there is no following swallowing motion so he hopes his magic had made quick work of the pill. Considering the relaxation that soon follows Killer and Cross can only assume as much as the pillow is brought up to hide him.

“Nightmare wants you to stay in bed for a few days. So we will bring your meals here to you.” Killer explains and sees concern flicker across half hidden features. “It is no problem and someone will hang out with you if you want them to.”

Definitely a want but no way he is going to ask, Killer noted starting to pick up more of the subtle tells the small skele let through. He let more through when he is in pain apparently and when he couldn’t sense himself as much through the haze of the painkillers. So Killer motions for Cross to stay put as he heads back out to collect some plates that Horror has created specifically for each person tonight.

“Is it okay if I eat in here with you?” Cross asks as soon as Killer leaves the room not wanting to over stay his welcome. “We’ll leave you alone if you want us too. We do want to spend time with you if you let us.”

Cross is excited to see the small skeleton stop to think about it. Yet before he can seem to come to a decision the floor boards at the door squeak to announce Horror’s arrival with two plates of food. The squeak seems to startle the smaller more than Cross expected it to as he curls into himself and watches the door intently. Nightmare had told them that both of the skeletons involved blamed themselves for what happened and this small skele is still expecting more punishment for what Cross couldn’t contemplate.

“Hey, ya okay with me coming in?” Horror pauses carefully with his delivery but quickly gets a nod. “Ya feeling any better? Huh… still not… never mind. Here ya go. Eat what ya can; we can save it for later if ya want.”

Although the painkillers seem to be helping quite a bit Cross doesn’t want the injured skele to exacerbate his injuries and offers a hand as soon as the other allows him too. Once he is sitting up and leaning against the headboard, pillows propping him up on either side just for extra precaution, Horror hands over the plates. Up close now Horror notes the slight _purple_ dusting of a blush. Horror gets a nod of thanks but the kid still doesn’t seem to want to speak.

“Just bring the plates to the kitchen when ya are done. It’s Dust’s turn to do dishes.” Horror watches for a reaction and only sees the kid slightly duck his head. “Error showed up with Fresh just a little while ago. They peeked in but ya were still asleep. Fresh will want to come see ya when dinner is done, is that alright?”

The small skele looks down to his bandaged hand sadly and nods his head. Cross pets his head in reassurance and then begins to dig into the plate Horror hands over to him. Noticing the little skele taking tiny bites Horror notices quickly that he is consuming but not enjoying. It is common for the kid to forget to summon his tongue for meals and Horror sighs softly.

“Kiddo, ya should enjoy yer food.” Horror reminds gently. “I work hard to make sure it is to everyone’s taste.”

Just like the other times this past week the kid perks up at the realization and focuses on summoning his tongue. He is getting faster at it but that is something that should be second nature and the smile of success that radiates every time he manages it, is almost immediately eclipsed by the grin the next bite of food creates. Horror has been very careful with the kid’s diet since finding out not only is he starving when he arrived, he is malnourished for a very long time, and since he is not used to his tongue too strong a flavor (Horror knew from experience, still dislikes overly spicy foods) is almost painful.

Not realizing how long he got lost in his own thoughts Horror is a bit startled to hear Cross giggling. Looking back up the kid is slumped over against Cross’s shoulder still holding a half full plate in his lap and bits of food at the corner of his mouth. Rolling his eye light just a bit at the display Horror retrieves the plate and holds Cross’s plate while he resituates the kid.

“I’ll let ‘em know he fell back asleep.” Horror goes to leave. “Call if ya need anything.”

\-------------------

The little skele awoke again to find himself in an awkward position he would not normally put himself in but apparently his self-control is slipping while he slept. He is sprawled out horizontally at the head of the bed which is actually much more comfortable on his injuries but he is once again hugging something more solid than a pillow under his head. Once again he has Cross trapped in a hug as he uses his lap for a pillow. Loosening his grip seems to alert his captive to his wakefulness as the conversation, that had probably been what woke him up, above him stops.

“How are you feeling?” Nightmare asks as soon as he realizes what has caught Cross’s attention. “What’s stopping you from speaking?”

Confusion quickly takes over the small skele’s face and he reaches up to his throat then looks irritated. Cross places a concerned hand on the little guys back to keep him from getting up. It seems to take several attempts to do whatever he is doing and his teeth click several times like he is trying to open his mouth but he shuts it in annoyance.

“Sorry, do that sometimes… not always on purpose. Thought I is talking.” The small skele relaxes back under Cross’s comforting pets unconsciously. “Didn’t want to be distracting… I guess I forgot to stop repressing my magic there.”

“I have many questions and concerns regarding that new information but we have a bit to cover and that can wait until later, given that I don’t catch you doing it again.” Nightmare rubs his sockets reordering his thoughts. “I guess I should start with how attached are you to your home AU… Do you care one way or another if it ceases to exist?”

“It’s alright little dude, you can have attachments to your home turf.” Fresh says sitting at the end of the bed. “Error found your AU. You don’t have to go back to stay… Do you know the moniker they’ve attached to you?”

“Leach.” The small skele pulls from Cross’s affections and curls in on himself. “Sorry, should have told you.”

“That doesn’t mean anything to us. My AU calls me a parasite. It isn’t true.” Fresh had obviously chosen to be the one to speak, even though he didn’t feel he is good at it, for this very reason. “I spent days hanging out with you in your crib alone and nothing happened to me, ‘cept a few good meals that I really needed.”

“You said yours isn’t true… Mine is but I can’t control it.” The little skele is scared what is going to happen next, would they return him to his AU, just kick him out… He shakes the thoughts away before he can go any further down that thought process. “It’s why I suppress my magic…”

“You have been here over a week. Unconscious and unable to forcibly repress your magic for almost two days… We have not seen any sign of you _leaching_ anyone’s, what, magic?” Nightmare quickly cuts through the thoughts that were obviously not doing the little skele any good. “Besides we have gotten off subject… Do you care if your AU ceases to exist?”

“I would prefer it not to disappear.” The little skele reaches up to his Humerus but one of Nightmare’s tentacles quickly halts him before he can. “Sorry, lost in thought.”

“I take it you do not want to permanently return so here is the issue that has come up since no one deemed it important enough to explain it to you beforehand.” Nightmare carefully holds the others wrist knowing he is not going to like what is about to be said. “Your AU is corrupting without you there. If you do not return it will collapse on itself. It is the reason most Sans will return to even the meanest of AUs every once in a while. Though, since you are outside the AU you should suffer no ill effect. Error suspects you have about a week before any permanent damage will start to manifest.”

“Wait, I planned to be gone a year. Does…” The little skele finds he does not want to think about that and quickly shifts focus. “So, I have to just show up in my AU and ‘ta-da’ it’s fixed.”

“You will have to hang around a bit since you have been gone so long. Three months, correct?” Nightmare sees a quick nod from the small form. “Almost to the day… Error can only get so much from the code and can’t stay too long without drawing unwanted attention… So the others are going to escort you. As long as they behave themselves, they can pass for ‘normal’ Sans for a few hours.”

“There are cameras in my house but do you think…” The little skele suddenly feels as if he is asking too much, they are already helping him and his AU. “Wonder if everyone will find it much different from their own AUs.”

“Speaking of which, you still have not been given the different AU explanation. Knowing what kind of AU they are going into will help them to plan ahead. So let’s see how far we can narrow this down.” Nightmare pulls up the chair next to the bed. “Who is older, you or your brother?”

“Me, by a year and eight months.” The little skele grins remembering how Papyrus used to fume at the reminder.

“There goes the Blue/Berry theory about your size. Your universe isn’t a Swap verse.” Nightmare thinks. “You don’t have the sharp edges of a Fell verse so not Red/Cherry. So, some kind of branch off directly from the original timeline… So where did it branch off? Were you still living in the labs when you decided to explore the universes?”

“No.” The small skele looks confusedly overwhelmed by all the new information.

“Not Handplates… didn’t see any plates anyways…” Nightmare shakes his head. “You just don’t know enough about other AUs to help this along. This is enough to do some planning for now and the boys will be able to figure more out once they get a look around.”

“Are we all going?” Cross pipes up sensing the end of Nightmare’s questioning. “I call dibs on making our disguises.”

“Nothing elaborate, he may still be injured and the less noticeable you are the better.” Nightmare takes his tentacle back sensing the small skele is calm enough not to hurt himself but sees Cross make a face. “This is a stealth mission, your specialty Cross. I want you in and out without drawing any higher attention to yourselves.”

“Fine.” Cross huffs crossing his arms, “Still call dibs.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we learned a bit more about our little skele.
> 
> Field trip!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, time to see the little skele's AU.
> 
> Meet some people...
> 
> This is going to be fun... maybe...
> 
> Day Count: 13

“You really are a quick healer.” Nightmare observes as the little skele sits on the floor tying his shoes. “Most of the breaks are hardly even noticeable.”

Most of the breaks the little skeleton sustained on his limbs now seem to resemble hairline fracture rather than the breaks they were less than a week ago. Killer is still favoring his leg that Ink had broken. Though the shattered ribs still needed binding to keep them in place, they are looking much better. Six days since he took the beating from Dust, two he practically spent unconscious, three on bed rest, and only yesterday was he allowed to walk around heavily monitored. Today he is moving gingerly when changing altitude but seems to have no mobility issues.

Cross has cobbled together more of a classic look for the little skele, figuring although his size would let him get away with pretending to be a Blue/Berry his tendency to shy away might give them away. The little skele did not seem to have ever owned his own jacket so Cross altered one they had pilfered on a mission to not be so big, although most of it still looked oversized, luckily the shorts had drawstrings. Dust had donated the only article to actually fit, a sleeveless black t-shirt that said ‘This is Humerous’ with the ‘i’s replaced with bones.

The others mostly just wore cleaner versions of their own clothes. Horror refused to wear a less bloody t-shirt but zipped up his jacket to hide it. Cross is the only one wearing an outfit completely different from his normal complex clothes. He wore long pants tucked into snow boots with a sturdier looking white jacket than what everyone else wore.

“Never realized how tiny I am.” The little skele shakes the sleeves over his hands to demonstrate his point. “Probably should have gotten myself a jacket sooner. At least I managed to grow out of all my clothes from when I was in stripes.”

“I didn’t even think about that angle.” Cross snaps his fingers at the missed opportunity teasingly and sees the little skele definitely sweat drop at the idea. “Maybe we can find another mission to try that.”

“Got the snacks packed just in case.” Horror walks in from the kitchen the last one to join the group. “Everyone ready to go… Yer so tiny.”

“Maybe everyone else is just too tall.” The little skele grumps at the tease but suddenly looks really nervous. “So… It really is okay if I want to come back? I don’t have to stay. I mean…”

Dust definitely notices the unintentional glance he is given when that is asked. The little skele had genocide smiled at him as he walked out of the training room intending to never return because of him. Even now though he never saw the little skele do more than quiet down some when he entered the same room, even when it is his own room.

“We are all prepared to go.” Killer stands from the couch. “What time should we be expected back if we don’t need a quick escape?”

“I will have dinner ready at seven so a portal will be open at a quarter till.” Nightmare informs and Killer plays with a watch on his wrist. “The normal place in Snowdin Forest, same place I am dropping you off. ALL of you come back in one piece.”

Nightmare gives the smallest skeleton a meaningful look as he opens a dark portal for all of them to go through. Horror is adjusting a beanie to hide the crack in his skull as he steps through the portal followed by Killer. Cross nudges the small nervous skele to go ahead of him knowing Dust will be right behind him.

“Well, looks pretty basic so far.” Killer reports once everyone is through and the portal closes behind them. “So, want to lead us to your sentry station?”

“Sentry station? I haven’t ever been a sentry. Never been this far out of Snowdin Town.” The little skele ducks his head between his shoulders, anxiety ramping up. “I can only get us to a few of the stores if we find my house first.”

“The fuck?” Dust blurts first rubbing at his socket. “Welp good thing the Underground is pretty straight forward. That should be the final sentry station before the Ruins, right?”

“This is where Nightmare normally drops us if we aren’t running a mission for Error.” Killer pats the little skele on the shoulder and sees him relax a bit. “Probably means we are going to run into some sentries that will ask a ton more questions than usual of us, since they are not used to seeing a Sans out here. Shouldn’t be a problem, everyone just remember to behave yourself.”

Cross and Killer start chattering as they take lead. Horror pulls the little skele closer to his side to follow the other two to the path. Dust picks up the tail of the group keeping an eye out. The path is not really well worn like in most verses where Papyrus would come and check that his brother is working properly. Though the little skele is looking around like his first time in a museum.

“If ya are gonna gawk lets at least get yer hood up so it isn’t so obvious.” Horror pulls up the little skele’s hood and rubs his skull playfully. “Weren’t ya running around AU’s for months, didn’t ya look ‘round?”

“Oh, um, I kinda popped out of the first portal to be greeted by an unhappy, very sharp looking, Papyrus that chased me out. I was running away from him still when I went to cut through an alley.” The little skele explains now looking down at the tracks Cross and Killer have made. “The Sans of that AU was coming back from another AU and I slipped past him… They didn’t follow but I was still in a dangerous universe and had to learn to hide pretty quickly. Can make a temporary shelter pretty quick. Food is the hardest thing to figure out. Lots of universes poison anything they throw out… Figured out most portal use happens in a specific alley so I always stayed close to those points to try to get somewhere better.”

“Impressive.” Horror forces an impressed smile over the pained look he is fighting. “That’s nothing to make light of… Some Sans and Papyrus can hardly survive in their own AU and you figured out a way to survive in multiple universes that have small quirks you have to watch out for.”

Horror notices the little skele looking slightly embarrassed at the praise but… there is no blush, oh well. Letting the little skele bask in the praise he had given him they are almost to Snowdin Town when they finally run into someone. Papyrus.

It is odd to see this Papyrus approach them. He is built just like classic Papyrus but he definitely isn’t dressed like him. His body sleeve is not formfitting so he looks a little bulkier. His boots are red and heavy duty. On his hands are red leather gloves with small plates lining the back of his hands. The chest plate is actual armor, at least two pieces to cover his ribs and the rest of his torso. His pauldron end just above his elbows and were more squared off than the sphere shape they were used to seeing. The cuisse are attached to a thick belt that sat snuggly on his hips. Knee guards finish off the armor. A red well-worn scarf seems to be the only real familiar article any of them recognized; though this one seems to have orange, the same color of Papyrus’s magic, running through it.

“GREETINGS!!!” Yeah, definitely a Papyrus. “I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS!!!”

Horror half hides the little skele behind him by stepping in front of him making it look as if he had done it by accident. Dust takes it upon himself to watch the little skele’s reactions to this interaction. Cross and Killer take up the task of conversing with this AU’s Papyrus. The little skele is just looking at his brother with relief, a look of admiration and pride on his face, typical of any Sans in his brother’s presence.

“Sup.” Killer waves lazily. “Sorry for popping in unannounced.”

“IT IS QUITE ALRIGHT. YOU ARE NOT THE FIRST ALTERNATE UNIVERSE TRAVERSERS TO VISIT OUR GREAT UNDERGROUND.” Papyrus motions behind him grinning widely. “MY BROTHER’S CONDITION HAS DRAWN QUITE A BIT OF ATTENTION… WE HAVE SEVERAL SANS AT THE LAB EVEN NOW GOING OVER RESEARCH… SNOWDIN IS USED TO VISITORS NOW AND SO ARE MOST OF THE HOTLAND LAB WORKERS… I AM IN CONTROL OF THE SNOWDIN AREA SO IF YOU NEED ANYTHING I AM THE SKELETON TO ASK. ”

The little skele shifts a bit further behind Horror at the mention of his condition but not enough to lose sight of his brother. Killer and Horror share a look knowing that depending on the AUs the other Sans were from they could cause them issue. Sensing Killer needs some time to consider what they are going to do Cross takes over the conversation.

“Congrats on being accepted into the Royal Guard.” Cross sincerely congratulates. “You have to know it isn’t common in this type of AU for a Papyrus to already be a part of the Royal Guard, usually they are still working their way up from sentry. Your brother must be very proud.”

“Ah, yes. UNFORTUNATELY HE WAS NOT UP TO ATTENDING MY INITIATION CEREMONY. WHEN I RETURNED HIS CONDITION HAD TAKEN A TURN FOR THE WORST AND WAS IN NO STATE TO…WELL DO MUCH WITH ME.” Papyrus explains and runs his fingers over the Deltarune on his chest. “IT WAS BITTERSWEET BUT HE IS STILL ALIVE SO… ONLY BEEN THREE MONTHS AND STILL…”

Dust who is still keeping an eye on the little skele watches as the admiration turns to hurt confusion and his hands come up to his sternum. It is quite surprising for a Papyrus to lie, is he misinformed or is he doing it of his own accord. This universe is not following the normal rules and the little skele is not very good at clearing things up, it is putting Dust on edge not being able to pin a personality to the normal monster.

“Could we meet your Sans?” Killer asks coming up with a course of action. “We came here to look into his condition since we know a Papyrus with something that sounded similar and were hoping to get some insight.”

“UNFORTUNATELY HE IS IN A FRAGILE STATE AND BEDRIDDEN. YOU WOULD NEED TO GO THROUGH THE QUARANTINE. HAVE TO MAKE SURE IT IS SAFE FOR BOTH HIM AND YOU TO ENTER HIS ROOM. IT IS PROTOCOL.” Papyrus recites to the group. “ANY INFORMATION YOU COULD WANT ARE AT THE LABS IN HOTLAND AND OUR SCIENTISTS WOULD GLADLY ASSIST YOU IN ANY RESEARCH YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURSUE… I APOLOGIZE BUT I HAVE A MEETING I MUST ATTEND. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I CAN ASSIST WITH BEFORE I MUST DEPART?”

Regrettably Dust is the only one watching the little skele, so he is the one who has to catch him from collapsing. His chest isn’t moving. When had he stopped breathing? Dust can only think of the shattered ribs that are still healing. Papyrus is quick to notice the commotion which alerts the others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Mention of injuries


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well we are in Snowdin Town.
> 
> Where to start the tour?
> 
> The gang seems to have many of the same questions as you guys
> 
> Day Count: 13

“I just finished texting Night. He said if it’s not his injuries and he wakes in the next hour he will let him stay through the visit.” Killer announces not noticing the smallest skeleton in the room rousing. “Any ideas why he passed out on us?”

“I don’t think he was reacting well to what his brother was saying.” Dust sighs. “I didn’t think it was this bad though… Don’t really know when he stopped breathing… Why is his brother lying like that, you think?”

“The kid has said many people consider him dangerous. Maybe they are trying to hide the fact that they couldn’t keep him contained.” Killer taps his phone against his leg. “I’m curious what they have on the kid in the lab. Not what they give out but what they actually have.”

The little skele is curled up on his side on one of the beds in the Inn. His shoes and jacket have been removed but the blanket has not been pulled over him. Rubbing his sockets he notices more of an ache in his ribs than this morning. Rolling to his back his shirt is bunched up like someone had lifted it to look at his damaged ribs but couldn’t quite get it all the way back down with him laying down.

“Hey bucko, feeling any better?” Horror asks getting a tired look and then a yawn. “Not quite awake yet are ya?”

“Sorry.” The little skeleton accepts Cross’s help when he tries to sit up. “What happened?”

“Looks like you had some kind of panic attack.” Killer informs leaning against the side table. “Want to tell us how to prevent it from happening again.”

“Oh, um, sorry, I…” The little skele grabs his left humerus and starts to rub at it hard. “If I come back with everyone believing that lie… I wouldn’t be allowed to leave my house anymore, maybe not even my room… No one would come…”

“Stop, that’s enough.” Killer pulls the little skele’s hand away from the damage he is causing; Dust gives Killer an inquisitive look, the kid had done that earlier too. “You have got to let us know when you start feeling this way. It is a panic attack and we can do things to help you come out of it rather than suffer through it or pass out.”

“You can stop them…” The little skele thinks on that for several minutes and they let him. “It won’t be a bother?”

“Night has woken up at all hours to help me with mine.” Killer assures. “I wouldn’t mind doing the same for anyone here.”

“Let’s get you back in your shoes and jacket.” Cross takes up the jacket when the little skele nods a bit unsure. “Then we can go to your house. There is something you wanted from there isn’t there?”

“Yes but, there are cameras in my house.” The little skele stands up and lets Cross help him into his jacket. “Won’t they be watching if the house is on quarantine.”

“We can shortcut right into your room and you can quickly grab it before they can realize we are even there.” Dust shrugs as if it is no big deal. “You know exactly where it is right?”

“Yeah, but…” The little skele tries to explain but is interrupted.

“Then I will shortcut Horror and you three can group together.” Dust walks over to Horror as the little skele shoves his feet back into his still tied shoes. “We should try to keep quite so we don’t alert anyone any faster. The cameras will have mics if they are Alphys’s design.”

“Don’t worry, we’ve got this.” Killer puts an arm over the two smallest skeletons. “On three… One… Two… Three.”

The little skele feels the ground disappear out from under his feet and everything is replaced with… it takes him a moment to think about it but it is everything and nothing at the same time. They are there for no time yet forever. It feels inviting yet hostile. Then his feet are back on solid ground in the familiar surroundings of his room, he shivers.

The room is so startling different from what any of the others were expecting that they freeze up upon getting a look at it. It is not really any different from how he left it so the little skele quickly goes to his knees to grab what he wants from its hiding place in a hole in the box spring. Without letting anyone see it he tucks it into the inside pocket of his jacket.

The site that greeted them is white; white walls, white ceiling, white doors, the most color coming from the hardwood floor peeking out from under a threadbare white rug. The twin size bed is made up tight with white sheets, blankets, and pillow case, set in the middle of the wall. A white bedside table with a white lamp with white lamp shade and soft white bulb is to the right of the bed. At the foot of the bed is a toy chest with a thick padlock holding it shut. On the wall where there should have been a window is a white six drawer dresser and bookshelf. Books only lined the bottom two shelves while the top are covered in locked glass hiding stuffed animals in various colors and conditions. The other two walls are lined with medical equipment of various types. The closet in the center of the wall across from the bed is locked with a padlock at the top of the door. Above the closet door is a small black dome, a camera.

“Damn, really trying to sell that lie, aren’t they?” Killer whispers blinking the brightness of the room away. “Did they move your stuff.”

“Hmm, no this is how I left it…” The little skele stands looking around, his hood had fallen over his head when he was looking under the bed, and he keeps his voice low just like Killer. “Well, I hadn’t done anything to earn the locks before I left but I guess sneaking off…”

The little skele peters off at the stunned and worried stares he is suddenly getting from the others. Cross is tucking closer to Killer’s side still under his arm. Horror is still looking around processing the room. Dust looks back around at the medical equipment when the silence returned. Before anymore could be said footsteps can be heard and all attention turns to the door into the room. A key can be heard unlocking the door before Papyrus bursts into the room.

“DO YOU REALIZE…” Papyrus begins but looks around the room. “WHERE IS MY BROTHER!?”

“It is alright Papyrus.” A bunny scientist stands in the door Papyrus had just barged through. “Sorry I thought the others had informed you. His condition worsened and he was moved back to his room in the labs. He has stabilized again.”

“I WILL GO SEE HIM AFTER MY MEETING. THEY ARE STILL WAITING FOR ME TO ARRIVE.” Papyrus sighs at the news. “YOU ARE STILL NOT ALLOWED IN HERE. YOU ARE LUCKY I HAD JUST LEFT FOR MY MEETING AND STILL CLOSE ENOUGH TO RETURN.”

Killer nudges Cross to go to the little skele who also seems to not be doing too well in this whole situation. The little skele allows Cross to stand behind him and wrap his arms around his shoulders. Cross feels the skeleton now in his arms slowly stop shaking. A tug on his sleeve makes him think the little skele needs something but when he looks down he sees him distractedly playing with the fuzz at the wrist of his jacket.

“THAT LITTLE ONE IS STILL NOT LOOKING VERY WELL. PERHAPS YOU SHOULD REST AT THE INN OR THAT GREASE TRAP EVERY SANS PERSONA SEEMS TO LIKE, UNTIL I GET OUT OF MY MEETING.” Papyrus misses the flinch he causes when he addresses his brother’s existence. “WHEN I GET BACK I WILL PROPERLY PLAY HOST TO YOU AND TAKE YOU TO THE LABS SO YOU CAN GET THE INFORMATION YOU ARE LOOKING FOR. THOUGH, YOU STILL WILL NOT BE ABLE TO COME WITH ME WHEN I GO TO SEE MY BROTHER.”

“I think we will take you up on that offer to go to Grillby’s but we won’t bother you further. We will find our way to the Labs later, on our own, so you can hurry to your brother.” Killer looks to Horror to see if he is good with this and he shrugs. “Maybe we will see you later at the labs.”

“THEN I WILL BID YOU FAREWELL.” Papyrus puffs up his chest and then leads them all to his front porch. “IF YOU NEED ANYTHING, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CALL UPON THE GREAT PAPYRUS.”

“Take care Papyrus.” The scientist waves him off and watches him zoom off. “Before I take my leave may I make a request of you?”

“You can make the request but I can’t guarantee any of us will agree to much.” Killer continues to do all the talking. “Not feeling too much cooperation here yet.”

“Mhmm… Anyways it has been helping us greatly when we can get some samples from visiting Sans.” The scientist looks at a clipboard in their hands. “A marrow sample.”

“The hell?” Horror takes a step away from the scientist like they are already presenting a large needle. “Do ya actually have volunteers for that?”

“Hmm, oh, I am not talking about a full donation or anything. It would be a simple stick to the finger for you skeletons.” The scientist rolls their eyes. “Not many but the few we have gotten have been quite valuable. You would think we were asking to strap you down and drill into your pelvis…”

The scientist does not get to finish before the little skeleton pulls away from Cross who is still clinging to him and gets to the tree line before expelling the contents of his stomach out of the scientist’s sight. His bones are rattling and refusing to stand any longer as he kneels in the snow holding onto a tree to prevent him from falling further. All the exertion has his ribs burning again and he is still panting for air. Crunching snow pulls him from his dark thoughts, and he looks back to the others hurrying over to him no scientist in sight. Running his sleeve over his teeth he attempts to force his feet properly back under him.

“Sorry, stopped thinking.” The little skele stumbles a bit and puts on a shaky smile. “Where d-did you want to go next?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Panic attacks, anxiety, sketchy medical practice(?)
> 
> Well that's not normal.
> 
> Ooh, mystery box... I will eventually tell you what's in it...
> 
> Next stop on this tour... Grillby's bar...


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now to warm up at Grillby's Bar.
> 
> Wonder who's currently there.
> 
> Also sorry I am not able to say much to comments. Trying to let more things play out so I don't spoil anything.
> 
> Day Count: 13

Cross watches the little skele as they walk towards Grillby’s bar. It seems that this visit is taking quite the toll on the little skeleton; shadows have appeared under his eyes, he is hardly lifting his feet through the snow, and he hardly lifts his head even when someone speaks to him. The prospect of Grillby’s doesn’t seem to lift his spirits and Cross is also a bit worried about Horror who is not always able to handle seeing an old friend who had not been able to survive his AU.

Opening the door Killer lets everyone go in before him so he can kind of see how they all are doing. Upon noticing Horror flinch upon seeing the fire elemental he decides it would be better to hide in one of the booths. It will also be easier to try and pry a bit more into what the little skele’s episode was earlier. Killer is glad Cross has taken it upon himself to look after the smaller since they left that creepy bedroom.

This AU is setting off Horror’s protective instincts and he follows the two smaller into one side of the booth. He trusts Killer and Dust to sit on the other side of the booth to watch his back which is to the rest of the bar. Their smallest isn’t doing well and is now trying to push on for them on an empty stomach. Watching Cross get the smaller to lay his head down into his lap Horror sits up more to hide them from the rest of the bar even though it is just the Canine Unit and drunk bunny currently occupying the bar with them.

In all honesty none of the gang are huge fans of Grillby’s anymore, each for their own reasons now a days but have put it aside hoping to give their smallest a pick me up. Grillby seems to be in the midst of making something up for the Canines so they have a moment to just decompress. Yet someone decides he has a better idea.

“Alright, we need to discuss a hard topic before we go any further.” Dust keeps his voice low enough to stay at the table. “How often does your kid reset? Sometimes a glitch occurs if a reset happens while someone is out of the AU and they get replaced.”

“Dust!” Cross reprimands the tactlessness.

“What do you mean kid? Do you mean human?” The little skele groggily answers. “I don’t think there has been a human to enter the underground since the adopted kid the King and Queen took in passed away with their own kid… not sure what you mean by reset.”

“You’ve never experienced a reset…” Dust growls. “What the hell? And you think you’re broken…”

“Du-st.” Horror draws out his name warningly. “We don’t know…”

“I need more air.” Dust gets up. “Catch up later.”

“Dust!” Killer calls but already knows there is nothing he could do. “Behave.”

“Whatever.” Dust shortcuts away.

They all sit in silence not knowing what to do to break the awkwardness that Dust had created and then left in his place. Nightmare is not going to be pleased when they all returned in different degrees of distress. This AU seems to be completely pacifist and yet it is putting everyone on edge. Then Dogamy and Dogaressa come to their booth to make it better.

“I smell an odd smell.” Dogamy stands by the table.

“An odd smell from this table.” Dogaressa reaffirms.

“Well that’s rude.” Horror tisks. “I showered sometime within the last month.”

“It’s a familiar smell.” Dogamy squints at the table.

“An unwelcome smell.” Dogaressa continues.

“We are just here for a bite.” Horror growls. “So if ya have something to say just say it.”

Killer watches as Grillby comes back out from the fire exit with the orders for the canine table and takes notice of the two absent from the table. He doesn’t intervene just passes out the orders to their prospective places at the table. Then Dogamy sniffs the air and crinkles his nose like he has smelled something foul.

“Tell me, do you act this way when your Sans comes in for a bit.” Killer cannot see said skeleton for his reactions but figures Cross has him under control. “Has it been bonely, sans skeleton here.”

“He knows not to come here.” Dogamy informs in a restrained snarl.

“Not good for him here.” Dogaressa seems to grin a bit at this.

The skeletons instantly pick up the actual meaning behind the dogs’ words, they are quite used to the treatment. Horror has turned in his seat to fully confront the dogs but sees Grillby out of the corner of his socket. The flame elemental turns from the treatment to return behind the bar to clean a glass. This is what set Horror off.

“Piss off.” Horror growls threateningly.

“We were here first.” Dogamy has his axe out.

“You are not welcome.” Dogaressa does the same as her husband.

“Doesn’t look like we are going to get service. Ya are a poor excuse for a barkeep, refuse to even consider ya a Grillby. Even Fell verse Grillby’s have more honor than ya.” Horror is releasing a dangerous aura that has the entire canine unit raising their hackles. “Thought dogs were loyal and ya…”

“Enough Horror.” Killer does not want to draw unwanted attention to the little skele hidden by the table. “We’ll just have to talk to Papyrus about other places that might welcome us.”

There seems to be a flinch from the couple when they turn from Horror and return to their table where the other dogs are slowly settling back in. Grillby has his head down focusing intently on the glass he is polishing. Furious at the lot of them Horror turns sharply back to the table, eye dilated and grin a bit too sharp. Cross is coaxing the little skele out of his defensive ball shaking too hard to move too fast. Killer is watching the bar giving Horror time to collect himself. The two smaller are scooting out of the booth when something settles in Horror and he returns to his duty of defensive wall for the two.

“Can you stand?” Cross looks concerned at the little skele looking down at his legs like he isn’t sure they are going to support him. “Do you want to ride on my back?”

“We’ll be able to move faster.” Killer decides to go more practical in an attempt to convince the uncertain little skele. “You need more rest.”

“Okay.” The little skele leans forward off the seat and clutches the back of Cross’s jacket as Cross takes hold of his legs, he feels so far from the ground. “Don’t drop me, please.”

“Don’t worry, you’re not heavy.” Cross chuckles readjusting and weaving his fingers under the others pelvis hoping to make him feel more secure. “Just keep your legs wrapped around me.”

The little skele hides his face against Cross’s back as Killer joins in with a bit of a chuckle himself. Horror is drawn further from his dark thoughts at the sounds of the two laughing and actually takes in the scene instead of just looking on at it. Throwing an arm across the smallest’s back Horror pets the top of his head and presses them out the door. Killer makes sure to close the door of the bar behind them hard enough to crack not only the glass but also the wood of the door and maybe even the frame. The noise causes the little skele to perk his head up still embarrassed about being carried and Horror notices purple tinting the cheeks of the skeleton. About to poke the little skele’s cheek he misses when he turns his head to see what Killer had done to make that noise.

“Everyone okay with River Person?” Killer pulls out his phone to start texting. “I have to figure out where Dust went and see where he wants to meet up and when.”

“Who’s River Person?” The little skele is clutching tightly to Cross’s jacket but tucking close to steal some of the others warmth helped along by Horror’s arm over them. “Should I know?”

“As long as we don’t have to walk all that way.” Cross’s next step is practically a skip. “We don’t get to ride his boat, well ever.”

Killer is quickly sending texts back and forth with Dust. He gives a disapproving look to his phone and smacks his own face. With a groan Killer presses his sockets like he is fighting a headache. Sending a final text, he stuffs his phone into his shorts pocket. Then turns to the others with a sigh.

“Dust is already at the lab.” Killer informs. “Hacking computers.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, Dust is still being a bit of a dick but everyone's instincts are acting up on them in this AU.
> 
> So on to River Person and the Labs.
> 
> Everyone's enjoying the tour right?


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning at bottom
> 
> Day Count: 13
> 
> I think they are warming up to each other more.

“Cross, can you get on the boat like that?” Killer watches the younger skeletons approach the boat in front of him. “Be careful… You good Horror?”

“Fine.” Horror looks at the water between the dock and boat.

“I can get down if you want me to.” The little skele looks dubiously at the bobbing boat. “It might…”

“I’ve got this!” Cross jumps the gap barely making the boat shift with his landing and moves to straddle one of the benches so the little skele doesn’t have to let go. “Are you still good?”

“That was fun…” The little skele whispers almost like he expects to be chastised for finding that dangerous stunt fun. “Can…”

“Tra la la. What’s the difference between secret and lie?” River Person sings causing the smaller to jump and cling tighter to Cross. “Depends who’s told I suppose. Tra la la.”

“Don’t worry, he does that.” Killer steps onto the boat but stays close to the edge to assure Horror, who is moving cautiously to board. “River Person likes his riddles but is pretty harmless.”

Horror’s tentative step on the boat causes just a bit of dip and he seems to gulp. Killer takes his arm almost like it is an absentminded action and Horror lunges forward into a seat in the row behind the two smallest. Seeing that Horror is seated Killer looks back to tell River Person their destination but sees that the hood is angled to their smallest. The little skele is staring back and gives a small shy childlike wave in return. It surprises Killer that River Person actually gives a wave back making the little skele grin widely.

“Hotland, please.” Killer is glad something in this AU made the little one smile. “So, the rest of this is new to you?”

The little skele is carefully pulling from Cross to look around with only people he saw as kind around him. With a nod to Killer he creeps over to the railing to look over at the water that is moving by quickly. Though as he goes to reach a hand out to the water Horror grabs a handful of the back of his jacket. The sudden pull on his jacket causes him to squeak and look back quickly to see Horror looking very concerned, fist so tight his claws are threatening to tear the fabric in his fist.

“Not safe.” Horror mutters. “Fall in, drown.”

Nodding the little skele sits back away from the railing and Horror relaxes, slowly releasing his hold on the jacket in his grip. It doesn’t deter him from whipping his head around almost dizzyingly to catch what glimpses he can of the scenery zooming by. Cross pulls his hood off so he can have a more unobstructed view and they can see the childish awe he is expressing at everything new.

“We are all okay with at least the public portion of the Labs.” Killer continues to watch the little skele as Horror’s fingers twitch occasionally as if he wants to catch him. “Do you have any issues with any part of the Labs?”

“Haven’t been since I was four when we moved out.” The little skele doesn’t stop looking around afraid to miss too much. “Dad only did experiments until I was two and…”

“Tra la la.” River Person sings out. “Hotland.”

“Hope back on.” Cross insists presenting his back and holding his arms out. “It will be fun.”

Hesitating only a second to take in the new scenery of the dock the little skele climbs back onto Cross’s back. Once he is securely attached to Cross’s back, Cross jumps up and out of the boat a head of Killer and Horror. Horror growls at Cross for slightly jostling the boat and being so careless but might as well have aimed it to the water for how much Cross is paying attention to him.

“Thanks, River Person.” The little skele calls out as Cross leaves the dock but stops at the end to wait for the others. “Wow, it’s hot.”

“It is called Hotland.” Cross laughs slightly jostling his passenger. “Asgore never could properly name anything. Are you going to be okay?”

“I think so. Just don’t remember feeling hot like this before, it is different.” The little skele thinks for a moment. “I shiver when cold but what am I supposed to do when hot?”

Cross has to catch himself from falling over in his amusement over the question and although he doesn’t want to hurt the little skele’s feeling for laughing he can’t stop. The little skele just stares at the bucking skeleton under him. Killer and Horror approach with looks of curiosity at Cross’s glee. Horror shakes his head when Cross doesn’t stop at their approach and reaches over to put the hood back over the smallest’s head, hiding him from the inhabitants of this AU.

“Sorry, sorry.” Cross gasps for air. “You will get uncomfortable first, if you stay that way too long you will most likely start panting. Too long and your magic won’t keep up and you pass out.”

“The Labs have AC so we won’t get to that point.” Killer assures. “Let’s go.”

“I have an idea. The usual.” Cross bounces on the balls of his feet. “Race you!”

Unable to resist the challenge they all take off running towards the Labs. The smallest has no choice but to cling tightly to Cross’s jacket as he takes off at a dead sprint. Too scared to look around anymore the little skele buries his face as not to see if he is going to fall. Luckily they decide to keep this little competition clean and don’t resort to anything like tripping or pushing or knife throwing.

Killer reaches the lab doors first, closely followed by Cross, and Horror decides to stop late so he squishes Killer against the door only to get an elbow to the ribs. The play fight continues until a quiet curse comes from Cross, who is now kneeling on the ground. As the two who were previously fighting get to Cross’s sides and see him uninjured they wait for explanation.

“I thought that would be fun.” Cross is trying to figure out how to tend to the skeleton tucked so tightly against his back he can’t reach him over his shoulder. “You’re okay. I’m sorry.”

The little skele is hyperventilating and is not responding to Cross. Horror attempts to remove him from Cross’s back but his grip is too tight on the jacket and ankles seem locked together around Cross’s spine. Attempts to remove him are aborted when they hear him murmuring unintelligently between gasps and change to just trying to ground him. Killer takes his turn by rubbing circles on the small tense back. The gasping changes into what sounds like hiccupping sobs but from what they can see his face is dry.

“Hey, shh, you’re okay. Try to put your feet down.” Killer instructs carefully assisting in untangling him and holding under his arm to keep him balanced. “Can you tell us what went wrong?”

“N…ed…it…” The little skeleton doesn’t seem to be able to articulate his thoughts yet but the others give him time to recollect himself to try again. “…not used to it… scared I’d fall… so high.”

“Sorry, I thought that since you liked jumping on and off the boat it would be okay.” Cross looks a bit dejected but Horror quickly pets his head. “I’m still learning about you so I guess I should have asked…”

“You didn’t drop me though.” The little skele tugged down on his hood. “Shouldn’t have…”

“None of that.” Killer interrupts when it seems like self-deprecation is about to start. “Being afraid is okay… Are you ready to get up?”

“Yeah.” The little skele looks at the ground when he sets his hand down. “Wow, the ground is really hot… how do people walk barefoot here when they’re all fleshy?”

Although the little skele is still trying to catch his breath and looks like he is vibrating with the tiny shivers racking his bones, he is being curious. None of them want to discourage their small copy but that question after what had been a pretty bad panic attack is a bit too much. He takes on an air of accomplishment at making them all laugh rather than embarrassment or offense.

“Are you all done fooling around outside the Lab doors?” A scientist stares down at them like he is already done with them all.

“We were dealing with something.” Killer looks over at the cat scientist with all amusement gone from his face. “Glad you showed up once it is all fixed and ruined the mood.”

The scientist’s ears lay back and eyes glare back at Killer like he outright insulted the monster’s research project. Everyone climbs to their feet to finally enter the Labs. It takes the scientist a minute before he steps out of their way. Cross feels the little skeleton tuck closer to his side as they are walking by the scientist who is glaring at each of them. At the slight sound of a whimper Cross tosses an arm over his shoulders.

“Do you know that scientist?” Cross whispers. “Is he not nice?”

“Not here.” Horror reaches down to tap the little skele’s arm where he has started rubbing. “When yer ready.”

“So…” The scientist follows them in. “Where to?”

“Away from you?” Killer smiles back at the scientist. “We can find our own way.”

“Guests are not permitted to wonder where they please.” Ears are still back and he moves to step in front of the group. “You have to…”

“Oh, another g-group of Sans.” Alphys walks from the elevator. “D-d-don’t wor-r-ry about them, I will h-h-handle it.”

“If you are sure Dr. Alphys.” Taking up a file from the reception desk the scientist heads down a hall and out of site.

“You are the gr-group that decided to p-p-pop into Papyrus’s house to try and-d-d pay a surprise visit.” Alphys says matter-of-factly. “If you h-h-have any questions I am the on-n-ne who has been working on Sans’ case the l-l-longest, I should-d-d be able to answer an-n-ny inquiries.”

“Killer, I don’t think he is going to be able to handle what we decided to do.” Cross whispers to Killer when he notices the rattling of bones under his arm. “Maybe I could walk around a bit and meet up when you find Dust?”

“Sounds good.” Killer notices the little skeletons sockets are empty and expressly not looking anywhere near Alphys. “Don’t let him out of your sight.”

“Got it.” Cross nods and tugs the little skeleton away from the group. “Let’s just look around, okay?”

“A lot of Sans n-n-need a moment when-n-n they first get here.” Alphys watches the smaller skeletons moving away. “I r-r-recommend the walkways d-d-down that hall second h-h-hall to the left.”

Cross nods and starts heading off for the area that Alphys recommended at least to start off in before wandering on their own. Considering how active this lab is, there should be vending machines somewhere to get at least a snack since they didn’t get anything at Grillby’s. The walk ways are mercifully clear of anyone else and although warm a breeze of some kind blows through to keep it from being stifling. Then the skeleton under Cross’s arm is gone.

“Cross.” The safety rail is at socket level to the little skele but he is staring under it. “I need to get down there.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down.” Cross catches him from trying to duck under the rail and scale the wall down. “Look, there is a door. We will have to go around.”

“…” The little skele closes his eyes as if thinking and then reopens them. “I… I know the way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: panic attack
> 
> Finally in the Labs.
> 
> Experiments over there, paperwork there, yet another thing you want to know what it is down there.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at bottom.
> 
> Day Count: 13
> 
> I think I figured out how to post at work, shh.
> 
> After October is over do you guys have days you would prefer I post, since I can't keep up this daily thing.

“So, you really know your way.” Cross watches as the little skele takes another turn sockets lightly closed like the map to this place is drawn there. “I thought you said you haven’t been here since you were like four.”

“I have trouble forgetting things.” The little skele isn’t even phased holding a conversation. “This area is quiet, so Dad would walk us here when I couldn’t sleep… I liked the way the light from the core moved on the walls.”

“When you say Dad, do you mean Gaster?” Cross treads carefully knowing most Gaster are not recalled in a very good light, his isn’t. “Was he nice to you?”

“We are almost there.” The little skele points down a dimly lit hall with an exit sign at the end. “Well, he did do experiments on me and some kinda hurt but he was never malicious and he made Papyrus so I wouldn’t be lonely… He didn’t do experiments on Papyrus and when there was an accident he saved Papyrus… I think he was nice. I liked him as my Dad.”

The little skele is slowing down the further into his explanation he gets. Cross notices the hitch in the smaller’s words and the slight hiccup sound of crying. Yet when he gets a good look at the other’s face there are no signs of tears at all. This AU had apparently had one of the decent Gasters as an inhabitant, it is a shame he is gone, maybe this verse would have been kinder to its skeletons or he could have grown evil with the years of being trapped.

“Through here.” The little skele pushes the door open. “Stay close to the wall.”

“Why aren’t there any rails down here?” Cross puts a hand on the wall not wanting to even look over the edge. “Seems like a highly dangerous oversight.”

“Dad fussed about it too but there isn’t enough traffic down here to supposedly waste the resources and manpower.” His sockets open now, he is somewhat soothed by the shifting lights on the wall. “Something about putting people at risk as well because, the increase of people to do the work.”

Cross doesn’t miss the terrified excitement the little skele suddenly wears as they near a sharp bend in the path that will lead them to below the walkway they were on earlier. Thus it is a bit disconcerting when the little skele takes off as soon as he glances around the corner. Not really wanting to, Cross picks up the pace enough to see his smaller approaching a shrine. The shrine looks as if it is cut out of the stone of the wall and not going anywhere. As Cross gets closer he can see a sheet of glass protecting a lab coat and little tchotchkes surrounding the shrine. The little skele is searching around desperately.

“None of it is here.” The little skeleton whimpers not looking back to Cross. “I-I-I sent something with Papyrus every year… He won’t think I don’t care, will he?”

“Hey, what’s up?” Cross approaches worriedly grabbing the other’s shoulders. “I don’t understand what’s going on. Is this for Gaster? Does your AU remember him?”

“Why wouldn’t they? I was told we put their dust on something they cherished, that’s why his lab coat is here. We weren’t allowed to take it because he is so widely known that it wouldn’t have been fair.” The little skele is trying hard to stay collected. “On the anniversary of his death we are supposed to leave a small gift and I knew some of mine wouldn’t last, like the pictures I drew, I didn’t have much to give but I always gave Papyrus something to take to show I remembered and missed him.”

“Okay, so you don’t see anything from you?” Cross looks closer at all the little things scattered around. “And you have never been here before? Do they maybe, clear off previous years to make room for the next year?”

“No. See that is the action figure Papyrus insisted on giving ten years ago.” He points out. “I sent a geode I had been holding onto from the lab when I wandered into the wrong area and got escorted back by a nice geologist.”

“I am not sure what happened.” Cross can tell this means a lot to the smaller but can’t really do much to help. “Do you have something you want to leave this time…? I bet he will understand.”

After an urgent nod, the little skele pulls something from the inside pocket of his jacket. It is a dilapidated old cardboard pencil box, more duct tape than cardboard any more. Gingerly setting the box down on a clear spot next to the shrine display the little skele opens it and just as gently moves around the things inside. Cross stands close enough to look over into the box.

There are several pictures in the box, all of them have some kind of damage but some are hardly being kept together with tape. A nicecream stick that says ‘Keep smiling, it helps’ through the blue stain. What looks like a braided friendship bracelet made from clear strings. A couple of drawings obviously done by a child. The item that gets chosen to be placed upon the shrine is a small eraser in the shape of a beaker with some kind of green coloring indicating a liquid in it.

“Um, do you know if you are supposed to say something when you give them the gift?” The little skele looks at Cross and keeps his voice low as if he doesn’t want the shrine to hear. “I haven’t ever gotten to do this before.”

“This is a first for me.” Cross rubs his chin. “I think you should do what you want… I can step away if you want me to.”

“No, stay please…” The skele looks scared and Cross moves the half inch back towards him. “Just don’t laugh; I haven’t spoken to him since I was four.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Cross assures and watches the little skele place down the eraser and then waver. “You don’t have to say much if you don’t want to.”

“Um, hi, wish you were still here.” The little skele suddenly grabs his box and turns away from the shrine. “Talking to a lab coat is inane. He is a scientist, he wouldn’t have believed in this nonsense.”

Cross catches him but does not push him back. Sans were known for avoidance and this one is in pain that he didn’t know how to deal with. Not to mention how worn out he must be from this whole trip. So Cross just holds him there long enough to make sure he is calm enough to leave safely.

“Hey!” Killer calls from up on the walkway. “How’d you get down there?”

“Door!” Cross calls pointing back the way they came grinning cheekily. “Shortcut seemed like a bad idea.”

“Maybe for going down.” Killer notes how close to the core they are. “Should be fine to come back up here. Come on, we found Dust.”

“You ready?” Cross holds onto him a little tighter as he leans into him and nods. “Hold on then.”

Cross pulls them through the void and the little skele ignores it this time. When their feet hit solid ground again there are steadying hands quickly on them since they are so close to the railing. The little skele looks back down to the shrine that looks so small from up here and releases Cross.

“So we figured out where Dust is and now we just have to find our way there without getting caught.” Killer glances back through the doors of the Labs. “Well, let’s go.”

Although their group gets some looks walking through the public portion of the Labs, no one tries to impede their progress. It isn’t until they find some secure doors that they have to stop and consider their options. Turns out the simplest option of hiding around the corner and waiting for an opportunity to shortcut through works quite well as a distracted orange dino scientist comes through the door paying more attention to his paperwork than his surroundings. The halls past these doors do not have much foot traffic at the moment but within many closed doors they can hear chattering and clatter of experiments going on.

Horror has been keeping a close eye on everyone looking for any signs of panic once they entered the off limits section of the Labs. He figured they would all be okay as long as they stayed away from the elevator that would take them to the True Lab but better safe than sorry. He strains his hearing to try and keep track of anyone that could be coming up on them and takes note of the lack of any footsteps in the hall. Looking down at the little skele like he hadn’t expected him to still be there, he is surprised he is being as silent as the rest of them.

“Should be this room.” Killer whispers tapping lightly on the door so Dust doesn’t try to kill them upon entering. “Come on.”

The room looks like it is set up for some kind of class. There is a white board at the front with three rows of desks split down the middle so there are six tables. Each table holds three computers and Dust is tucked up in the front on the right with the only computer that is currently on in the room. The screen has a game of solitaire pulled up as everyone comes in.

“So, what’d you bring me?” Dust looks at them only half expectantly, he had kind of stormed out. “Anything good?”

“We got asked politely to go fuck ourselves shortly after you left.” Killer sighs and takes the seat next to Dust so he can see the screen. “What have you gotten into?”

“Seriously?” Dust furrows his brow. “And Grillby just sat back…”

“The barkeep didn’t say nothin’.” Horror plops into a chair close to them. “Let the damn canines chase us out.”

“Oh, yeah, wait…” Cross calls out pulling up his inventory. “We found a vending machine and bought some snacks.”

“Smart thinking.” Horror grins watching Cross pull out bags of chisps, and notices the nod he points to the little skele trying to be smaller across the room. “Have you two already had some?”

“Wait, didn’t you pack snacks for us.” Dust recalls looking to Horror who already had two bags of chisps in his hand. “You made some stuff just in case right?”

“Uh, forgot…” Horror tosses the bags on the table and opens his own inventory. “Some sandwiches mostly.”

“Cool, sandwiches go great with chisps.” Cross calls out looking around for the little skele. “What kind do you want?”

The little skele jumps at being addressed like he is doing something he shouldn’t. About that time the screen in front of him lights up causing another flinch as he tucks back into his chair guiltily. He figured it would take more than one push of a button to turn on a computer. Cross comes over with a few of the sandwiches Horror recommended and sets out their lunch for them.

“Anyways.” Dust takes a bite of his sandwich and continues. “I have gotten into most of their files from here and have started to download them but some are still heavily encrypted. I think there is even video footage.”

“Well now we can compare it to what they are just willing to hand out to whoever asks.” Killer pulls out a thumb drive from his pocket. “Looks like a lot of reading.”

“There is thirteen years of data.” Dust minimizes the solitaire game. “Several reports a day. That Sans was watched twenty-four/seven. The only two cameras in his house are in the living room and his room from what I can tell.”

“You’ve watched some already?” Killer looks at all the files on the screen. “Didn’t Night want to review it first?”

“I just saw thumbnails, they hardly vary.” Dust assures. “There are lists of experiments. Lots of checkmarks too.”

Dust has read a lot more than he has let on. Some part of him is still warring with him about trusting that little skeleton. Most AUs follow some kind of pattern and every time it felt like they were sorting this one out something came by to screw it up. To top it off the little skeleton is still acting like it is his fucking fault and trying to behave.

“Papyrus, please… I don’t, I’m scared… please.” A voice spills out of Dust's headphones loud enough only for Killer and Horror as well. “Papyrus, please, I’m sorry… it hurts, please… I’m sorry… Let me go, please, not again… I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Talk of death
> 
> Tchotchkes, I like the word blame nilchance for teaching me it
> 
> So, I let you know what was in the box and what was at the bottom of the cliff, did I do good?
> 
> Oh, now you are probably mad because of that audio...


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at bottom
> 
> Day Count: 13
> 
> As we come to the conclusion of the tour please remember to collect all belongings

Cross has found some kind of cat and mouse game for the little skele to try and play. Took Cross a bit to show him how to control the little mouse around the maze to the cheese with the four arrow buttons but he got it. A sudden tension in the air quickly has Cross looking around ready to defend the little oblivious skele at the computer. After a quick glance around the room to find no one has joined them Cross looks to the others staring repulsed by something on the screen. Tapping on the desk so he doesn’t spook any of them, Cross takes a step but, Killer looks over before he quickly starts clicking things on the computer over Dust.

“Everything okay over there?” Cross decides he is not curious enough about whatever just happened to completely alert the little skele. “How much longer do you need to finish the transfer?”

“Nuh-uh. Fuck that.” Dust stands up moving towards Cross’s side of the room. “Fuck.”

“Dust, what’s wrong.” Cross isn’t sure what he should do, Dust looks like he is aiming for the little skele again. “I just got him settled down…”

“…” Dust steps around Cross and wraps his arms around the little skele earning himself a startled yelp as the body in his grip jerks. “Sorry. I’ve been in a bad mood that I have been taking out on you. So, sorry.”

“So, you don’t want me to stay here?” The little skele looks at all of the other skeletons in the room since he is being held too tightly to Dust to see him. “If you want I won’t use my magic, I am used to it so…”

“No. You are coming home with us.” Dust squeezes a little harder at the thought of that clip they just glanced. “We are going to teach you how to use your magic. You won’t have to use it to fight if you don’t want to but you can if you need to.”

“We won’t if I’m dangerous right?” The little skele reaches for his sternum when Dust lets him go. “I’m scared I’ll hurt someone but I don’t want to.”

The few seconds of the clip that they had managed to see before Killer could cut it flashes through Dusts head. Blue magic holding down a terrified looking Sans, too small to be anyone besides the one currently in front of Dust, and needles being aimed at the summoned Soul, everyone being careful not to actually touch bone or Soul. No one in the video seemed phased by the cries, not Alphys, not the two other scientist, not Undyne, and not… Papyrus, who is holding him down looking about to start a lecture.

“YOU ARE AGAIN; SOMEWHERE YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE.” Papyrus sighs from the door with Alphys right behind him. “IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BE FOLLOWING OUR RULES YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BE ALLOWED TO STAY. AS A MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD I AM GOING TO HAVE TO ASK ALL OF YOU TO LEAVE. I WILL ESCORT YOU BACK TO THE MACHINE TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU…”

“No need, we have our own way home.” Dust stood between the two smallest skeletons and the door. “How is your brother doing?”

“STABLE BUT UNRESPONSIVE.” Papyrus lies, huffing and crossing his arms. “NO YOU MAY NOT SEE HIM.”

“What is wrong with your brother?” Dust asks barely holding himself back. “What does this disease do to him?”

“It is not a disease.” Alphys steps in. “His magic d-d-doesn’t work like it should-d-d. Like, it can’t function w-w-without direct influence from an-n-nother source of magic.”

“You only believe part of what you said.” Killer intervenes not wanting Dust to push himself too far, that clip had rattled them all. “Do you really think the Sans that are coming through believe everything you are feeding them?”

“WE DO NOT NEED TROUBLE. WE ALLOW YOU ALL HERE TO SHARE KNOWLEDGE BUT IF YOU ARE GOING TO INSIST ON BEING NUISANCES WE HAVE BEEN TOLD TO CALL INK… YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH HIM, AREN’T YOU?” Papyrus holds his hand out preparing an attack. “I KNOW YOU ALL THINK YOU HAVE EVERYTHING FIGURED OUT BUT I CAN ASSURE YOU, YOU ARE MISTAKEN. I WILL SUBDUE YOU IF I HAVE TO BUT I KNOW THAT WE CAN ALL LEAVE HERE ON AMICABLE TERMS, RIGHT?”

“Like hell.” Dust moves towards the door threateningly. “I want…”

The blue magic that hits Dust isn’t what he is used to. Dust had been prepared for pressure to pull at his Soul, which he could then redirect with his own magic. Instead the magic diffuses throughout his bones ignoring his Soul. Off balance, Dust can only begin to fall as he tries to reorient himself.

“RELAX, I HAVE BEEN TOLD MY MANIPULATION OF BLUE MAGIC IS DIFFERENT AND DISORIENTING, BUT I WON’T HURT YOU.” Papyrus explains as Alphys steps out of the room. “IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO GRAB MY BROTHER’S SOUL SO I HAVE HAD TO ADAPT MY MAGIC… TO HELP HIM OF COURSE. IT TAKES A LOT OF COERCION TO SIMPLY LOOK AT HIS POOR DAMAGED SOUL…”

Dust hasn’t relaxed in Papyrus’s hold and the little skele is pretty sure the ground in here is quite hard. Knowing Papyrus’s next usual move the little skele lurches forward sliding under the larger skeleton to keep Dust’s head from smacking the floor and curls protectively over his head. Though by jumping in he has now garnered himself the spotlight. The blue magic leaves the stunned form of Dust to now push him down.

“NO! Let me go, let me go!” The little skele yells losing himself as he always does when he feels the restraining magic, and knows what is about to come, this will be the forty-second time, he can’t. “Please, please, please… I’m sorry…”

Before his rambling can continue Killer tosses Papyrus out of the room making the tall skeleton lose his grip on his magic. Dust is quick to use his own magic to shut and seal the door. When he is sure the door is not reopening for a while Dust turns to check on the little skele beneath him. The little skele is still splayed out where the magic had pinned him.

It is pretty obvious the little skele is no longer here in the room with them. He still looks tense like he is trying to fight off the magic or maybe trying to behave to prove the magic isn’t necessary. His eye lights are gone from their sockets which look up blankly at the ceiling. His chest is heaving as he hyperventilates still trying to beg and plead but unable to get it out. His magic shutting down.

“Shit, he needs out of here.” Dust carefully shifts the little skele to his side where the less injured ribs are hoping the change in position will help pull him out. “The files should be almost done downloading.”

“They are done, just need to eject the external hard drive.” Killer taps on several keys to get the computer to safely give up the drive. “We can text Night to open the portal a bit early for us once we are in the forest. Let’s go.”

“I’ve got him. He’s pretty used to me carrying him now.” Cross gets his arms under the little skele’s knees and shoulders to princess carry him. “Do you want to take the reins on the shortcut?”

“No… no…” The little skele manages to slightly whimper out and give a bit of a shudder. “Papyrus… please.”

Dust pulls them through the void and out into their rendezvous spot. The instant, rattling of bone next to him, draws his attention to see the little skele is already shivering. Cross is handing him the little skele so he can pull off his own jacket to wrap around him to keep the cold off as Killer is sending texts to Nightmare. Horror takes notice of the fumbling and makes his way over to check on things. As they manage to get the little skele bundled up, his eye lights come back to look around at them numbly.

“Where’s Papyrus?” His voice is hoarse and tired. “Did I get us in trouble?”

“Hush, and circulate some magic before you get frostbite.” Cross takes the little skele back into his arms. “We are waiting on Night to open us some portals home.”

Several portals open for them to hop through and Killer looks around to make sure the coast is clear, he still recalls this AU’s Papyrus's threat to call Ink. Everyone files through, Cross refusing to let the smaller walk on his own. They wait in another Snowdin Forest for Nightmare to close the first portals and open another. Then they are in the hideout living room with Nightmare glowering at them.

“What happened?” Nightmare does not single anyone out to answer. “Were you caught?”

“Not exactly.” Dust finally says hands deep in his pockets. “We were asked to leave but not because they figure out who we were but because we were somewhere we weren’t supposed to be.”

“Cross, is he hurt?” Nightmare nods to the bundle Cross refused to set down. “Why are you carrying him?”

“His Papyrus threw him to the ground.” Cross notices the flinch from his arms. “We haven’t really had time to check him.”

“Not that I am excusing it but he was at least already sitting on the ground so I don’t think he sustained any damage to his HP numbers.” Killer is wording things carefully in front of the little skele so Nightmare would ask them more once out of earshot. “He should probably get some rest that last panic attack was pretty bad.”

“We are going to cuddle on the couch!” Cross calls out moving to dive onto the closest couch but Nightmare grabs his middle and pulls him back. “What? I did my chores already.”

“Don’t you think you should ask if that’s what he wants to do?” Nightmare reminds having not been able to read the skeletons reaction due to him being wrapped up and still unable to sense his emotions. “If you have been carrying him for a while he may be at his limit.”

It looks like at some point in all of this round about talking the little skele has managed to burry himself deeper into the jackets. Cross, having his hands full, turns so Nightmare can try to disentangle the jackets since the little skele is not forthcoming with any answers yet. The jostling does get a bit of grumbling as it pulls the skele out of his comfy cocoon. Something about the situation has embarrassed the little skele because as Nightmare lifts the skele’s face from the folds he is a bright blue and trying very hard not to make eye contact with anyone.

“Alright I know my memory isn’t the best but I know his magic has been at least three different colors.” Horror points out causing the little skele to try and hide his skull in the jacket again. “No one else has noticed?”

“Well, I know it was red that first time we saw it.” Killer thinks about it. “I think I have also seen it purple. Now blue.”

“So the color of everyone else’s magic.” Dust looks around thinking. “Everyone who has been close to him at least.”

“I, I’m not doing it on purpose… It just happens… If you want me to keep my distance I can, I’m sorry.” The little skele fights the urge to burry himself back into Cross’s chest. “I tried to tell you I was dangerous…”

“How is your magic changing color dangerous?” Nightmare holds the little skeleton in a way that he can separate him from Cross depending on the answers he gets. “No one has been hurt by you yet. I would hardly consider you more dangerous than your average Berry, which you still don’t know about.”

“My magic absorbs other magic.” The little skele feels Nightmare's grip tighten and can’t repress a flinch. “It is why they call me a leach.”

“How much magic?” Nightmare looks where he and Cross are holding onto the little skele. “Are you repressing your magic right now?”

“I don’t think it is much, just enough to tint my magic… No one really wanted to risk it… they even made me stop hugging Papyrus, he wouldn’t even let me pet his head anymore when he turned four.” The little skele is waiting for Nightmare to do whatever he is going to do to him. “I’m sorry… I think my last panic attack I repressed my magic… trying to slowly get it back up but I won’t if you don’t want me to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Conflict, panic attack
> 
> The game at the beginning was one I would play for hours way back when and I don't think exists anymore.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning at bottom (are these helpful?)
> 
> Day Count: 13
> 
> Now that they aren't letting him go back lets see how they start settling him in as more than just a guest. Not everything will go well but we'll hopefully get there.

The little skele is harmless. Nightmare had dismissed everyone to make reports since he needed to tend to the issue of the little skele. A tentacle wrapped around the little skele’s wrist (for experimental purposes) as he slept sprawled out on his stomach. With Dust’s external drive hooked into the laptop on his lap he is trying to quickly learn about the broken (he is pretty sure this is beyond damaged like he previously suspected) skele next to him.

Just the ‘Introductions for New Hands’ had been very informative in what the little skele has been subjected to for years. It made it clear that the little skele is not haphephobic like Error but terrified people would be freaked out by _his_ touch. The little skele had refused a blanket after he removed his jacket which would probably come up as some other trauma if he kept reading, Nightmare still remembers the sleep over incident. He knew he needed to get up soon to make dinner but there is still so much to go through and all of his other work (plus removing his tentacle from the sleeping skele’s wrist would probably wake him up).

With a disgruntled sigh Nightmare carefully starts to unwrap his tentacle to realize the little skele is holding onto it. Grumbling he closes the laptop and lays it on the table to contemplate his predicament. He is saved from his dilemma when he hears footfall heading to the kitchen forgetting to sneak.

“No chocolate before dinner Cross.” Nightmare calls over his shoulder and said skeleton freezes one foot still in the air. “I am about to start cooking.”

“Just one chocolate bar won’t ruin my appetite.” Cross protests and slouches his shoulders, he is already in his night attire of grey sweats and white t-shirt. “Just one.”

“No, now come over here and sit with him while I make dinner.” Nightmare manages to pry his tentacle away from the little skele but is punished with a quite whimper as the little skele curls in on himself. “That trip to his AU has left him exhausted… I am pretty sure this _leach_ ability of his is simply his magic absorbing the errant magic monsters naturally put off like body heat. We don’t use it anyways, why… never mind, I don’t want to have to go destroy something because I’ve got myself worked up.”

“So, cuddling is safe?” Cross is completely derailed in his desire for chocolate. “It won’t hurt anyone?”

“He has had a hold of me for hours and I have felt nothing.” Nightmare informs standing from the couch as Cross comes over and scritches at the coronal suture at the side of the little skele’s head relaxing him. “His magic is so benign I don’t get why anyone would think it dangerous.”

Cross gets his arm under the smaller’s head and then curls protectively around him. Although all the jostling has stirred the little skele but not woken him, he readjusts to the body around him and nuzzles into Cross’s shoulder. Nightmare _does not_ leave for the kitchen with a blush on his face at the adorableness of the two little skeleton’s and he will string anyone up who says otherwise.

\-----------

“This is totally adorable.” Killer croons over the back of the couch. “We are going to have to convince him to join one of our cuddle piles.”

“Yep, and for now, blackmail.” Horror snaps a few pictures on his phone. “I don’t wanna wake ‘em.”

The little skele stirs at the sound of voices around him and feels warmth enveloping him. It is very comfortable and he kind of just wants to ignore the other presences to slip back to sleep but that might make them mad so he gives a little huff as he forces his sockets open. His sight is blocked by someone’s collar bone and he can’t really get a look at who since his head is tucked under their chin. Arms circle him keeping him close to the other body and legs semi tangled. As much as he is enjoying it another part of his mind is setting off alarms.

“Hey, look here.” Killer walks around the couch so he is easier to see. “Nightmare wouldn’t have allowed it if he thought it unsafe, you are fine.”

“I wanna see Cross’s face.” Horror grins mischievously. “Dust is setting the table for dinner. Why don’t ya take the honor?”

The little skele squirms a bit to give his arms a bit of room to move. Trying to tap Cross’s chest to wake him the little skele is pulled back tight with his arms trapped between their chests with hardly any room to squirm back out. Both of the other skeletons are snickering quietly and being no help at all.

“Cro-oss.” The little skele whines out only to have Cross nuzzle the top of his skull startling him. “Hey! What are you doing?”

“Don’t wanna get up.” Cross snuggles more around the little skele. “Too comfy.”

“But dinner.” The little skele protests. “And now you’re squeezing me too much.”

“Hmm, oh sorry.” Cross sleepily but quickly releases the little skele and sits up yawning. “You okay?”

“Glad I got that on camera.” Horror teases gaining Cross’s attention. “And you always used to complain when we cuddled ya like that.”

“Give me that.” Cross lights up in a blush and launches himself at Horror’s phone. “Delete that right now.”

“Nope, shouldn’t have been so cute.” Horror steps out of the way and holds his phone above Cross’s head. “Cuddling on the couch like a couple of kittens.”

“Killer.” The little skele tugs on Killer’s jacket to pull his attention from the game of keep away. “What’s a kitten?”

“It’s uh, hang on.” Killer pulls out his phone to search for a photo as he fights a pang of rage at those that kept this innocent little cinnamon roll from even this little bit of happiness. “Here, these are some kittens we fostered years ago.”

“Awe, they look so fuzzy.” The little skele looks at the pics as Killer flicked through a few careful to not go too far and into something that might scar him.

“Enough roughhousing, dinner is ready, to the table.” Nightmare physically separates Horror and Cross both laughing by now. “Well… It’s getting cold.”

Killer gets his laughing back under control and looks to the couch to see if the little skele needs any help only to be greeted with an empty couch. The little skele in question is already half way across the room and had not made a sound in his socked feet. That is impressive; he had gotten by all of them without anyone noticing.

“Cross, ya have gotta teach him subterfuge.” Horror noogies said skeleton. “I think he would be good at it.”

\----------*

After breakfast the next morning Nightmare herds everyone to the training room. The previous day’s mission is causing emotions to run a bit rampant and he needs to make sure he has everyone under control. Some sparring would help his boys and he could start the little skele on some basics since he isn’t getting far on his own. A wrench is almost immediately thrown into the works when it is made obvious that the little skele has absolutely no idea what the training room is actually used for. The boys have turned to Nightmare for instruction when they see the skeleton rattling behind Nightmare, who turns to see what has caught their attention.

The little skele is looking between the others obviously trying to hide just how terrified he is at the moment. He looks to be almost in tears trying to figure out exactly what he has done this time so he can start apologizing to lessen his punishment. When he realizes they are all looking back at him he broadens the fake smile, even if it twitched a bit, to assure them he knew he deserved it and isn’t going to fight them. No hyperventilating, maybe he had let himself have too many panic attacks yesterday, or didn’t tell them something, like how he isn’t allowed in Grillby’s bar.

He doesn’t realize someone is calling his name. When was the last time anyone used that name for him anyways, is it even considered his name if no one uses it anymore? Not since Papyrus’s sixth birthday when he made the wish that he could address him like the scientists so as not to cause confusion.

A sharp sting to his left cheek pulls him from his spiraling thoughts. He yelps more startled than in pain. Not realizing it has started he pulls his arms up to protect his head from the next blow trying to brace himself for if they go for a body blow next. The next move against him isn’t a blow though he is merely moved to the side enough to knock him out of stance and stumble.

“Hey!” Nightmare’s voice finally cuts through the walls he had thrown up. “Damn it, can you hear me now or not?”

“Hear you.” The little skele still has his arms up and has shifted back into stance but his chest is convulsing with sobs.

“Good…” Nightmare sighs noticing the little skele’s sockets are dry and yet locked on him. “What is going on?”

“I am being punished.” He had to show he understood. “For the trouble yesterday?”

“Damn it.” Nightmare could feel Dust’s emotions wavering behind him, blaming himself while he couldn’t get anything from the skeleton in front of him. “No, you are not here to be punished, we obviously didn’t explain that to you very well, and no one blames you for anything bad that happened yesterday… Are you able to calm down or do you need help in some way?”

“Panic attack?” The little skele brings his arms down to wrap around his ribs. “Um, don’t know…”

“He didn’t seem to understand that he was having panic attacks yesterday.” Killer informs softly. “Yes that is what is happening, kiddo.”

“Sorry, tried not to.” The little skele tries to tense up to stop the shaking. “Can’t stop.”

“May I touch.” Nightmare steps closer waiting until he sees a nod before placing a hand on his sternum and at the back of his neck. “Let’s start with breathing… good… I know it is hard but relax, I’ve got you so if you need to go to the ground I will slow you down… Keep trying, you’re fine… you won’t hurt anyone, you need to let go of your magic.”

The little skele jerks at the last command losing all progress on relaxing. Nightmare does not let the little skele pull away from him though. Concern is pouring from the others and although Nightmare figures the little skele will probably appreciate it later, the looks he is tossing around they are not helping to ease him now. Yet Dust’s unease needs tending to as well, so he can’t just dismiss them to spar.

“What if…” The little skele whimpers having trouble stringing his thoughts into word. “Danger...”

“You are _not_ going to hurt anyone. I will not let you. Now look at only me.” Nightmare demands holding on more securely as he feels like the little skele is trying to pull away. “Breathe… Relax… Let go, your body needs that magic you are denying it.”

Nightmare holds the little skele’s gaze as he continues to whimper at this demand. He is more terrified than he was at the beginning of the panic attack, Nightmare could see that much. Then the little skele releases his ribs to bring his trembling hands up to hold onto Nightmare’s sleeve as he manages a deep breath. As if that deep breath broke a dam the little skele’s sockets flood with tears that stream down his face.

“Hnn? I’m sorry.” The little skele tries to draw away from Nightmare as he releases him to rub at his sockets. “It won’t stop.”

“How the hell did you…” Killer’s outburst is cut off by an elbow to his ribs.

“You are fine… Do you want to sit down? Alright, bend your knees slowly, I’ve got you.” Nightmare slowly knelt down with the little skele who is still wiping at his tear streaked face. “Let it out. We will talk once you have calmed down, no hurry… Dust, come here.”

“Huh, oh, I’m…” Dust glances down at the look he gets from Nightmare and shuffles forward. “Yes, sir?”

“He’ll be fine in a bit.” Nightmare assured. “You can explain yourself later, he just does not understand, you saw his universe.”

“He just looks so small, why did I think he was a threat?” Dust mumbles. “Feels like when I confronted my brother.”

“Are you fine to spar or do you need to go get some space?” Nightmare studies Dust, knowing his brother is a sensitive subject that had once driven him insane, then takes his wrist in a tentacle. “You can take a minute on the sidelines if you need to.”

“Sparring sounds good, sir.” Dust straightens up and puts his free hand in his pocket trying to act normal even if Nightmare could see through it. “Yeah, we can chat later if he wants.”

“Good, then why don’t you and Killer spar with each other. While Horror and Cross, you two okay to spar one another?” Nightmare gets nods all around as they head further into the room and he turns his attention back to the little skele. “When you feel like it we can talk or if you are not ready for that we can do some training.”

“Can’t stop.” The little skele is starting to look frustrated as he hiccupped and continued to wipe at the tear trails. “Sorry, I’m trying.”

“Just let yourself cry for a bit, its fine.” Nightmare keeps an even voice not expressing any emotion. “Just breathe, relax, and let your magic circulate… Good.”

Nightmare releases the front of the little skele but keeps his hand on his back as they both sit more comfortably. He is not really surprised when the little skele brings his knees up to fold his arms on and bury his face. What is surprising is that after less than five minutes the little skele is uncurling himself although slowly. There is some sniffling and a bit of an attempt to wipe tears off on the shoulder of his own shirt.

“So.” Nightmare watches carefully as the little skele looks up to him. “Talk or magic.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Panic attack- I do not condone Nightmare's method of getting him out of it.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More settling into life at the hideout.
> 
> Day Count: 14

Nightmare has moved them to one of the benches so they are no longer on the ground. They are both sitting cross legged so that they can face each other. This little skele broke another rule that seemed to function in most AUs, he has the fine control of a Papyrus persona although he can’t tell how much magic he has. Despite this the little skele cannot form so much as a bullet. It does take several attempts to stop the little skele from faking his attempts.

The little skele is starting to show the strain of his attempts even though Nightmare cannot really tell what his magic is doing. So Nightmare goes to make him take a break when he senses a stray attack coming at him and he jumps back to avoid it. Two of Killer’s knives stuck out of the bench one where Nightmare had been sitting and one… right in the little skele’s lap.

“Killer, your surroundings!” Nightmare calls interrupting the sparring match. “If you are losing focus take a break.”

Dust and Killer separate quickly when they realize where Killer’s attack had landed. Nightmare takes notice that the little skele has not even realized he has a knife between his legs. He would have started growling out more reprimands considering the danger he had missed due to the knife Killer had thrown being backed with some of his gravity magic but color is appearing on the little skele’s arms. The little skele’s magic decides to take in the residual magic off the knife and dye the focused magic in his mana lines so they can see it.

It is no wonder the little skele is showing so much strain. His magic is fighting to both get out and to stay restrained within his bones. If he keeps it up he could potentially destroy the magic lines he currently has under strain. That is something Nightmare and his gang are not able to help him fix.

“Alright, I think that is enough for now.” Nightmare calmly returns to sitting in front of the little skele tossing the knife that is in his seat to the side. “Try to redistribute your magic back out.”

The dyed magic disperses quicker than Nightmare would have liked but some of the strain seems to have left the little skele’s face. Panting as if he just ran a marathon the little skele lets his arms drop heavily to his lap to the sides of the knife which he has still yet to notice. Attempting to raise his head so he can gauge Nightmare’s approval of his attempt the little skele goes boneless. Keeping him from falling off the bench or onto the knife Nightmare quickly CHECKS him.

CHECK

Skeleton

HP 18/20

LV 1

EXP 0

ATK 0

DEF -

Can’t disappoint them

So tired

Maybe it’s okay to exist here

-

“He doesn’t seem to have much of an instinct.” Nightmare tells the two skeletons still standing close as he hands Killer’s knife back to him, trying to ignore the fact that he is going to have to keep a closer eye on this skeleton. “Your knife didn’t even make him flinch.”

“Dude, that went right between his legs.” Dust whistles impressed. “Damn that’s dangerous… How did he survive on his own for three months in Fell verses with no survival instinct?”

“He has lived in a bubble.” Killer gives a dramatic shiver. “Did you see those books on his shelf? I don’t think any of them surpassed the reading difficulty of ‘Fluffy Bunny’.”

“Was too distracted by the fucking medical machines. Do you think he had to hook himself up to all that shit?” Dust gets a thoughtful look. “That would be messed up… How often do you think they locked his stuff up on him?”

“As worn out as those books were. Quite often.” Killer clenches his fists in his pockets. “He’s eighteen and…Oh, shit.”

“You have been so good at sharing your thoughts on this matter why the sudden hesitance.” Nightmare felt the sudden jolt of unease from whatever Killer realized and he really needs to read the reports they wrote about the AU. “Something I should know?”

“Um, just a thought but… His environment was very controlled. No privacy, no _educational_ materials, no Undernet access…” Killer realizes they are not connecting the dots like he had and scratches at his cheek. “Nightmare, has he had his first heat?”

“He has not been in a stable enough environment or condition since his eighteenth birthday.” Nightmare with holds a flinch when he thinks back to initiating the little skele. “Maybe it would be better to switch up his magic training. He doesn’t like the idea of expressing his magic which I think is hindering him. It may work better if we focus on ecto flesh.”

“Welp, that’s going to be interesting.” Dust shakes his head. “This kid going to catch a break any time soon?”

With a bit of a huff the little skele returns to consciousness and almost rolls off the bench forgetting where he is. Nightmare catches him and helps him sit up as he rubbed his head like he is trying to ward off a headache. The HP drop indicates that he had either had his magic backlash or strained his magic trying to force it. So the little skele is given a moment to rebalance.

“Why won’t my magic work?” He suddenly whines. “I was really trying that last time.”

“It is not expected of you to be able to just start tossing magic attacks around.” Nightmare looks slightly annoyed. “Just having it flowing evenly throughout your whole body is an accomplishment after having to have it repressed as long as you have.”

“If you are looking to earn your keep, you have probably come to the wrong place.” Killer chuckles when the little skele gives him a disbelieving look. “Cross can tell you. Went through this whole phase too. Almost got himself killed trying to prove something that didn’t matter. So we’ll tell you right now…”

“Is that what’s been distracting you?” Nightmare cuts in taking the little skele’s chin in a tentacle so they are face to face. “You are mine. I take care of mine… Don’t you dare go deciding your own worth, that is my job.”

The amount of sudden possessiveness the skeletons around the little skele are giving off gains the remaining skeletons’ attention. They join the group in time to hear Nightmare’s claim and add their own possessive aura. Yet it takes the little skele several long seconds as he searches Nightmare’s face to figure out if he believes what he is being told. With a nod the little skele is released from Nightmare’s grip. Then Cross starts laughing.

“Oh no, he can’t…” Cross tries to control his giggling. “Our tiny skele can’t feel aura remember?”

“Wait, what? Seriously?” Killer sighs bringing his palm to his forehead. “And here we were creating an impressive atmosphere…

“No wonder.” Dust slaps his hand over his eyes. “Wow, the more I learn the more I feel like an ass.”

“What did I do?” The little skele looks hastily between all of the surrounding skeletons. “I don’t get it.”

“Exactly.” Killer chuckles. “Can that even be taught?”

“Training is done for the day.” Nightmare really needs to get to some of that paperwork. “Go get chores done and then you can have the rest of the day to do what you want… Within reason.”

\----------

Nightmare has yet to adjust the chores schedule to fit the little skele into yet so while the others are busy he is to sit in the office with Nightmare just circulating magic so his system gets more used to it. The little skele is so used to the magic being repressed that with all the magic circulation now everything is so sensitive. His ribs which are merely fractured a bit in some place ache harshly with almost every breath and shift of body or shirt. When everyone begins scattering from their finished chores the little skele goes to make his escape too when he is told he is to be mindful to keep his magic going. So pouting just a bit he goes to join in with the recreational activities.

Only… He hasn’t been able to find Horror. Dust is closed up in his room doing dangerous chemical experiments that go way over his head to even begin to understand. Killer is doing wood carving and the little skele has no confidence even holding a knife let alone using it in any way. Although he joins Cross for about ten minutes his ribs hurt too much to lay on his front on the floor drawing for any longer. And Nightmare has shooed everyone away from his office to try to get work done.

Having already searched what he knew of the hideout the little skele is heading to the living room, a familiar room he can figure out something to do in. The movie selection is too daunting and he can’t bring himself to broach the shelf. Sounds of pots and pans clanging from the kitchen draws his attention from trying to busy himself. Quietly so as not to disrupt whoever is in the kitchen the little skele opens the swinging door connecting the two rooms just a crack.

Horror is moving around the kitchen like he is in his element. The ingredients for dinner are spread out on the counter having already been prepped so Horror isn’t wasting time during the cooking process. All the cutting boards and mixing implements are washed and sitting on the draining board as Horror dries his hands. Suddenly Horror tenses and swings around looking around the kitchen like he expects an attack. Finding nothing he slowly returns to the stove to start cooking. A small noise pricks at his nerves.

“Dust! If ya are trying to pull a prank…” Horror trails off considering what he would do if Dust pranked him in the kitchen again. “I ain’t playing.”

A small squeak and the shift of the door to the living room closing is not the response Horror had been expecting. Turning the stove back off he makes his way to the living room careful of any traps on the door. Horror walks in to find the little skele standing by the coffee table looking guilty.

“I’m sorry. I was just going to watch you cook. I didn’t mean to be a distraction.” The little skele is rubbing his arm, not hard enough to hurt yet. “I won’t bother you anymore. I can go to my room.”

“No, no… Why were ya spying from the door?” Horror scratches just below the crack in his skull. “Ya could have come in and not sent my instincts prickling…”

“Didn’t know if I was allowed.” The little skele looks down at his feet ashamed. “You were busy and I didn’t want to mess you up?”

“And how would ya asking mess me up more than sneaking around.” Horror sees the little skele’s hand tense on his arm. “I ain’t angry at ya. At least as long as ya weren’t trying to prank me or something.”

“I was told I’m annoying when I hang around while… people… are busy.” The little skele admits seeming to deflate even more. “There are just too many movies and…”

“Did yer bro tell you that?” Horror does not miss the flinch; he has seen too many Fell verses for that. “What does he _let_ you call him?”

“Papyrus.” The little skele sighs. “It is only fair, that is what everyone else calls him and he is not a babybones that needs a nick name.”

“And what does he call ya?” Horror doesn’t like the way he tenses like prey before a predator and yet still turns to him, tears in his sockets. “Ya d…”

“Subject 5-4-N-5.” The little skele lets his arms drop to his side. “Just wanted to be like the adults, is all.”

“Ya wanted to watch me cook right, kiddo?” Horror uses his sleeve to wipe tears from the skele’s cheeks after placing a note on his phone and dropping the phone back in his pocket. “Ya don’t even have to stay in the doorway. I will put ya up on the counter and maybe ya can even give me a hand.”

Horror wants nothing more than to go back to this skele’s AU and literally tear some monsters apart but as expected of almost every Sans out there, this little skele is still protecting his _brother._ Though the reaction to the little skele realizing that he is crying helps bring his mood back down again as he tries to tug the bottom of his shirt up to dry his own eyes. So once the little skele seems to be satisfied that his face is dry enough Horror gently takes his wrist and leads him into the kitchen where he feels him tense in the doorway.

“Yer always welcome in here as long as it ain’t to prank me.” Horror waits for the little skele to relax. “Ya wanna hand me ingredients?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Horror is a big teddy bear and does not like to see any of the others upset.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at bottom
> 
> Day Count: 14
> 
> Some bonding time

“So, what kinda foods ya like?” Horror enjoys cooking things the others favor, even if he sometimes won’t touch it himself, like that hot salsa they like sometimes. “If I don’t know how to make it I can find it in a cookbook somewhere.”

“Don’t know.” The little skele holds the now empty bowl that had held all the minced vegetables in it and is most definitely sitting on the counter. “Dad didn’t cook well, mostly ramen. The caretakers before Papyrus could cook made some kind of science paste that was supposed to be good for you, and by the time Papyrus started cooking I was no longer allowed to even summon my tongue.”

“Alright, did yer Papyrus cook anything for ya that looked good that ya would like to try now?” Horror is most definitely collecting tabs that he plans to get back from this skele’s Papyrus; killing isn’t the only option after all. “We can try some stuff out to see if we can get it right?”

“He only made me spaghetti.” The little skele glances over into the sizzling pan. “Not sure what it taste like but it was always soggy.”

“Why do Papyruses have so much issue making spaghetti?” Horror shakes his head. “Did he punch the tomatoes to make the sauce?”

“No, just noodles.” The little skele jumps a bit when something pops. “He wouldn’t let me watch when he made his own food. Said I was distracting him from perfection. I sneezed once and made him mess up a whole pot of my spaghetti.”

“What do ya mean?” Horror tosses everything in the pan with a quick twitch of the wrist, impressing the little skele.

“Hmm, I don’t really know. I was sitting just outside the door frame and he started telling me off for ruining the dish.” The little skele laughs a bit when Horror gives a bit of a ‘ta-da’ pose. “He tossed it and told me to go to bed. He had more important things to do than clean up after me. He stopped letting me watch him cook as much after that.”

“Ya don’t waste food.” Horror mumbles knowing he cannot really do anything about the food that was tossed probably years ago. “Wait… No sauce and he made ya the same thing for every meal. What did ya do when he was kept out or had to leave early.”

“Didn’t matter, couldn’t taste anything anyways.” The little skele shrugs but is nervously tapping the bowl he still clings onto. “He would just give me a third meal the next day. Said it is all about portion control or something.”

“Third… Don’t ya mean forth.” Horror turns down the heat to let things simmer. “Ya are supposed to have three meals.”

“Oh, I thought that had to do with the small portion thing because I didn’t eat enough while I was on my own.” The little skele contemplates that. “So even though we don’t have organs we are supposed to eat three meals… Does that mean even though we don’t have skin, we need to take baths more than every other week?”

“Please, tell me that is an attempt at a bad joke.” Horror sighs as the little skele shakes his head embarrassed he had believed what he had been told. “Ya know ya feel cold without skin. If ya feel cold ya can bundle up in a jacket or any of the million blankets we keep around.”

“Blankets make me feel… like I am having one of those panic attacks.” The little skele admits and feels Horror rub at his face. “Oops, did I touch some of that sauce again.”

“Yeah but I got it.” Horror lies but he wanted to see if the skele was blushing which he can’t do with the kid’s magic alone, he most definitely is, it is adorable. “and I think the word you are looking for is claustrophobic… like ya are in a small or tight space that is too small and ya can’t escape. We know phobias.”

“Horror! Hide me it isn’t my fault.” Dust dashes into the kitchen out of breath and stops by the stove. “I will do your dishes for a week if you hide me.”

“From who?” Horror listens but can’t hear the chaser yet. “And I decide which week.”

“It turned out to only be a stink bomb; Nightmare is blowing it all out of proportion.” Dust glances back. “Now, please.”

“A week and a piece of that chocolate cake ya are hiding from Cross.” Horror grins but Dust huffs in defeat and shakes Horror’s hand. “In here, I used most the chopping boards earlier.”

Dust practically dives into the cupboard when Horror opens it. Just in time too as Nightmare pops out of a shadowy puddle looking furious. Unfortunately, not enough time to explain to the confused little skele suddenly trying to fall off the counter still clutching a bowl. Horror catches him before he hits the floor but neither of them keeps the bowl from clattering to the ground.

“I’m allowed in here right?” The little skele clutches to the zipper of Horror’s jacket. “I’m not going to get you in trouble?”

“Where is Dust?” Nightmare growls looking around the kitchen. “And why are you whispering?”

“Because some people were raised by dicks and some people think they aren’t allowed in completely reasonable places.” Horror places the little skele back on the counter. “Yer fine. Who did what now?”

“Grr, never mind.” Nightmare turns and disappears back into the shadowy puddle.

Horror gives it a few minutes to make sure he doesn’t come back and kicks the cupboard door where Dust is hiding. The door opens just a crack and Dust looks around like he is double checking that the coast is clear. Seeing no signs of Nightmare in the kitchen any longer Dust lets out a deep dramatic sigh and then lays with his head sticking out the cupboard grin plastered on his face. When he spots the little skele up on the counter he gives a bit of a surprised wave.

“Um, what just happened?” The little skele asks worriedly glancing where Nightmare had disappeared. “Why is he angry?”

“Dusty here prolly blew something up.” Horror informs getting a disgruntled stare from Dust. “Nightmare isn’t really angry-angry. Jus’ upset enough to dole out some punishments because he is worried someone is going to hurt themselves.”

“You working on your math Horror, you’re throwing out a lot of sums.” Dust has made himself comfortable enough that he is not getting out of the cupboard until he is made to. “About time to divide up the grub?”

“So, if Nightmare didn’t leave…” The little skele is interrupted by Nightmare’s deep dark chuckle causing a shiver down both Horror and Dust’s spines.

“You didn’t answer the question about dinner Horror.” Nightmare slips a tentacle around Dusts midsection pulling him out upside down and running a warning tentacle over Horror’s shoulders, sinister smile on his teeth. “Can everything be moved from the stove?”

With a bit of a gulp Horror turns the stove off glancing at a few of the dishes to assure that they are done and gives a nod. To which Nightmare puts everything safely on the island in the middle of the kitchen on potholders. Taking that moment to help the little skele off the counter Horror tries to hide the fact that he is sweating a bit at the situation Dust has now got him caught up in, that piece of chocolate cake better be worth it. This whole thing is causing the little skele to anxiously look between the other three skeletons like he desperately wants to ask what he is supposed to do. Then Nightmare disappears with both Dust and Horror in his grasp.

Looking around the kitchen and this time finding himself completely alone the little skele starts heading to the living room in hopes of finding someone. It is as empty as it was earlier before he was invited into the kitchen with Horror. So he heads back towards the bedrooms to try to find one of the others and let them know what is going on. Both of the remaining skeletons have their doors propped open just a few doors apart from each other (no one stayed right next to each other, the walls were thick but better safe than sorry). Knocking on the open frame of Killer’s room the occupant looks up at him.

“What’s up?” Killer sticks his knife into his table to turn his attention to his door. “Everything alright?”

“Um, I think so.” The little skele looks back down the hall unsure. “Dust is in trouble for blowing something up, and Horror helped him hide in the kitchen, and then Nightmare took them both, and I am not really sure what just happened.”

“Ha! Damn, missed it.” Killer laughs. “Don’t worry. Happens all the time. They will be back soon… They didn’t upset you or anything right?”

“Hmm, no… I just thought…” The skele rubs his arm. “I just got worried I guess.”

“Well, Nightmare wouldn’t have taken Horror from the kitchen if he wasn’t done with dinner, so do you want to help set the table with me.” Killer gets up stretching and popping his spine loudly. “We will be able to get dinner quicker if we don’t wait for Nightmare to calm down and tell us to do it.”

“Is it okay if you teach me?” The little skele still had residual bits of Horror’s magic so Killer could see his face lighting up. “I haven’t ever set a table. Horror told me I should be telling you guys when I don’t know how to do something, instead of just trying to get out of the way.”

“Horror is right. We won’t always be able to teach you immediately but having more hands around to help us do things is never a bad idea.” Killer rubs the top of the little skele’s skull getting a bit of a giggle for his efforts just like with Cross. “We will see what Cross is up to and then I will show you how we set the table.”

Cross is waiting for them… above his door… where he jumps from as soon as the two skeletons peek in to see what he is up to. Killer tucks his hand into his jacket pocket ready to pull out the knife he had luckily just left in his table where he was carving. The little skele who has never been jump scared like that before almost falls completely back into the other wall but Cross reaches out to catch him before he hits the floor.

“Wh-what was that for?” The little skele looks startled still as Cross sets him back up on his feet. “Why would you do that?”

“It is just a prank.” Cross assures scratching the back of his skull after Killer thumps him. “It’s funny, sometimes. Like a whoopi cushion.”

“A _what_ cushion?” The little skele cocks his head to the side in confusion seeming to forget his indignation of being scared.

“Hold on, I think I managed to hide a few after that last purge.” Killer slips back into his room. “We have got to do this… It will help everyone settle back down.”

“Oh, okay…” The little skele looks at the flat deflated red rubber thing that Killer hands him. “What does it do?”

“This is a Sans’ classic. It is a crime that you don’t even know what it is.” Killer holds out a second one and shows him how to inflate it. “Not all the way see… holds the air by itself unlike a balloon… and then you can hide it in someone’s seat.”

“Why?” The little skele did as instructed and turns the whoopi cushion over in his hands to examine it. “What does…?”

Cross puts his hands over the smaller’s hands and squeezes the whoopi cushion just firm enough for it to let out a noise, they didn’t want the sound to carry. The little skele’s face goes quickly through several emotions not sure how he is supposed to react to the crude noise. With a small shake of his head the little skele looks to the other two for how to react. For their part they burst out laughing more for the new reaction to the whoopi cushion than the sound it had made.

“Um, heh, that is interesting.” The little skele looks betrayed at the whoopi cushion. “…oh, it’s about the reactions people have when they trigger the noise without realizing where it is coming from.”

“Yep, good job.” Killer pats the little skele on the back. “Now let’s go before we run out of time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: talks of abuse
> 
> Little skele just wants to be included


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't think I have any warnings this time.
> 
> Day Count: 14
> 
> A bit of fluff for you

“Hmm, they don’t look like they need any more healing gel or to be wrapped back up.” Killer announces as he pulls the little skele’s shirt back down and Nightmare leads two brooding skeletons into the dining room. “You are probably just getting more feedback than you are used to now that you have a steady flow of magic going through you.”

“Why would you want that if it causes more pain?” The little skele whines but is legitimately asking a question. “If you can pull the magic away so you don’t have to use painkillers…”

“Then the injuries are not getting the magic they need to properly heal.” Nightmare lifts the shirt back up to get his own look at the damage. “They shouldn’t ache much longer. At this rate I would say they will probably be completely healed by tomorrow night at the latest.”

“That’s what… nine days to heal shattered bone.” Cross whistles impressed. “And I don’t even see any scarring.”

“Is that good?” The little skele looks around. “I mean I knew some of the um, procedures never left scars but I thought the scientist did something.”

“It can be a really good quality to have.” Nightmare sighs. “But I can think of plenty of ways to exploit it… Not that I will. Just thinking.”

“Hey, now that you are here.” Killer pipes up and gets a pout from the little skele already knowing what he is about to do. “Would you tell him it is fine to take some painkillers, even if he thinks the pain is fine and that we should save them for worse injuries.”

“Why don’t we lead by example there buddy?” Dust leans heavily on the table next to his chair peeking out from under his hood. “I recall having to slip a few things into your food to get you to…”

“That is not helping.” Killer quickly cuts him off. “Seriously, we have plenty right now and plenty of time to go get more before any big mission we need to go on.”

“I’m fine.” The little skele pouts crossing his arms and leaning back into his chair. “Don’t need them.”

“Why don’t ya need them?” Horror recognizes the way he is reacting from the talks they had in the kitchen. “What’ve ya been told ‘bout medicine?”

“…” The little skele is petulantly kicking his feet but seriously considering how to answer the question. “That I was whining and it is for worse things, shouldn’t waste it when others might need it… Just means I’ll be ready for the next test sooner, didn’t know you were a masochist.”

There is too much outraged tumult to make out much of what any individual is saying when Horror whistled sharply for quiet. He knew the little skele wouldn’t be able to process all of it at once and might take it wrong if not squashed quickly. Nightmare eyes Horror suspiciously for a moment realizing he might know more than he should and sighs.

“Okay first off, you know you don’t have to answer any of these questions that you don’t want to answer.” Nightmare sees the answer flicker through the little skele’s eye lights. “Until he is more accustomed to not answering every question aimed at him be more careful what you are asking him… Back to the painkillers. They are for exactly what they are named for. They aren’t called unbearable pain killers… take them.”

The little skele is still primed for more pouting about not needing to waste supplies on him when he looks up to see that grin on Nightmare’s face, the one he had on when he caught up to Dust in the kitchen. Glancing down to the outstretched hand that holds two of the painkillers out he is caught between a bristle of being offered two and a shiver at being the target of that menacing smile. Slowly sitting forward he holds his hand out for Nightmare to drop the pills into his palm and then tossing them to the back of his mouth.

“Seriously, you are allowed to take those with something to drink.” Killer cringes at the phantom taste at the back of his tongue. “Let’s just wash it down with some dinner.”

“Am I supposed to summon my tongue when I take them?” The little skele sticks his tongue out at Killer, like he has seen Cross do to the others on occasion. “Seems counterpro…”

Fffttthhhhppttttt! Nightmare could not get out of his chair fast enough and now has tentacles splayed out pulling him up. He has a foot on the arm and back of his chair looking as a tentacle pulls out the traitorous noise maker. A look around the room only garners him many faces trying very hard not to burst out laughing. It seems the little skele is the first to break considering his lack of experience but his laugh is contagious as the rest join in only seconds later. Nightmare’s glare cannot quell any of them with the whoopi cushion dangling close by from a tentacle.

“I thought I had all of these destroyed.” Nightmare recalls the literal weeks of not being able to sit down without first checking your seat and then still somehow sitting on one of the obnoxious things. “Who brought more into the hideout?”

“Uh-oh… Too soon.” Dust backs up from the table slowly. “SCATTER!!!”

The skeletons who can, shortcut from the room and Horror dives through the door to the kitchen where he can then make his escape. Leaving a very confused little skele, clutching his ribs from his laughing, at the table with Nightmare staring down at him still standing on his chair from where he jumped. A tentacle shoots out to catch the little skele who is quick to duck under the table onto his knees. Only for more tentacles to surround him on different sides of the table.

“Explanation.” The skele covers his head. “Not going to hurt me?”

The pursuing tentacles pause and Nightmare steps down from his chair obliterating the whoopi cushion he still had. Carefully, using a tentacle to gently pull the little skele out from under the table, without raising him completely off the ground. Although obviously very confused by the sudden (multiple) turn of events the little skele looks up at Nightmare for an explanation, not terrified like last time.

“I am going to search you to make sure you do not have any more of these confounded things on you. Then I am going to go catch the next one of those trouble makers and search them.” Nightmare explains only slightly less menacing, this is punishment and he needs to be taken seriously. “Now, do you have an inventory… hmm, we will have to get you one… that makes this easier for me… strip…”

\----------

The little skele is definitely no stranger to having no privacy but that was just weird. It isn’t like he isn’t see through once his clothing is removed yet Nightmare had still spun him around making sure he isn’t hiding anything. First shirtless and then having to stand there no pants either. To further the confusion Nightmare laid a blanket on the back of his chair and sent him to sit down while he chased down the others.

Cross is the first one to come pouting into the room blanket around his shoulders as he makes his way over to his seat laying his head down in embarrassment. The little skele realizes how tedious the same task of disrobing had to have been for the normally monochromatically dressed skeleton. Dust comes in grumbling about not having been able to even help with the prank as he buries himself in his blanket in his seat. That makes the little skele feel a bit guilty since Dust was in the middle of one punishment while they set up the prank that had him getting punished again. Killer strolls in, in a pink blanket a bit later.

“Worth it.” Killer shrugs when Cross looks up at him. “But he found my stash in my room, so I am out. Sorry for ditching you bud, forgot you didn’t know.”

“Come on, I was with ya when they pulled that!” Horror calls from the kitchen where Nightmare found him. “This isn’t fair!”

“Then you have nothing to hide.” Nightmare reasons.

“Welp, everyone’s been caught now.” Dust breaths out deeply. “At least now we can eat some dinner.”

Horror stomps through the door still grumbling much like Dust had but pauses looking at all the other skeletons at the table. A sudden realization seems to strike him as his eye light shrinks and he bolts back into the kitchen cutting Nightmare off before he can join them. Everyone stares at the place Horror had just appeared and disappeared in apparent confusion.

“Since when is he shy?” Dust looks after him a bit worried. “He’s the one who just walked in uncovered.”

Nightmare opens the door from the kitchen like he is checking in on everyone at the table and Horror still stands with his blanket simply tossed over one shoulder. Whatever he sees causes him to face palm as he ushers Horror back into the room in front of him. It isn’t until Killer notices Horror worriedly looking between the little skele, Nightmare, and the blanket that he recalls something: the little skele has no expectation of privacy. Killer reaches for the blanket but halts when Horror gives him a sharp shake of the head, confusing him. The little skele is obviously cold, he is shivering, are they really supposed to ignore that all through dinner.

“If you would like your clothes back you are going to have to give me a believable apology.” Nightmare informs sounding very fed up with all of this. “You have been here the longest, would you like to give it a go.”

“Um, please.” The little skele looks unsure like there might be a trick that he isn’t aware of. “I’m… am I supposed to be in a supplicant pose?”

“No, damn it… you are apologizing not begging forgiveness.” Nightmare rubs his skull. “It is an annoying prank not something that could have hurt someone.”

“Oh, okay.” The little skele seems to tuck that bit of information away for later and puts his hands together anyways. “I’m sorry I put that um, uh, whoopi cushion in your chair at the dining table, I won’t do it again.”

“Good enough.” Nightmare drops the little skele’s clothes down on his head. “Get dressed, Cross, you next… I have some of your night clothes for you if…”

“Please, please forgive me for my rude, rude behavior.” Cross half tosses his upper body over the table hands clasped. “I won’t teach my kohai any more bad habits, please…”

“Enough.” Nightmare tosses the clothes to Cross. “Dust.”

“I still say I didn’t do anything this time.” Dust continues to grouch but a look to his clothes in Nightmare’s hand causes him to sigh. “Sorry I made you chase my innocent ass across the castle like I was guilty of something.”

“That’s the best I am getting from you right now isn’t it.” Nightmare shakes his head but hands over the clothes. “Killer, how about you?”

“Nah, I think I am good, no regrets, nice and comfy in my blanket…” Killer’s little rant dies in his throat at the un-amused stare Nightmare is giving him. “Fine, I am sorry I kept a bunch of those pranking devices hidden from your purge and used them to get the newest little trouble maker into mischief with me and Cross.”

“If I thought keeping these would make you even the least bit sorry, I would, you unrepentant menace.” Nightmare rolls his eye at Killer who looks overly happy at his clothes, even going as far as to hug them. “Horror, last one up and then we can eat.”

“Huh…” Horror had checked out starring at the food on the table. “What’s up?”

“The apology.” Cross quickly whispers over to him.

“Oh, uh, yeah. Sorry ‘bout all that jazz.” Horror plops down in his seat. “We gonna eat some time tonight?”

“Just clothe yourself.” Nightmare gives up and passes out food. “Anything anyone wants to share… that is appropriate for the table?”

“…” The little skele adjusts his shirt thinking. “I think I hurt my ribs laughing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think the little skele did a lot of learning today... Just probably not what Nightmare would have wanted him to learn.


	22. Morning Routine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at the bottom
> 
> Day Count: 22
> 
> I gave this chapter a title.

Day to day is becoming pretty routine. About every other day someone would be sent out to cause some kind of chaos and maybe pick up some supplies the hideout needed. Unless someone really needed it training is done at least three times a week in the evening before dinner. Horror and Nightmare took care of most of the meals, although Killer would step in occasionally. There were plenty of chores around the base that Nightmare is glad to put bored hands to. The living room had movies and video games (still way too daunting to tackle without the others).

Even with so much, the little skele finds himself waiting for noise outside his door before he dares venture out of his room. Being on a very set schedule most his life has left his internal clock waking him hours before any of the others now that he is not sleeping extra to recover from injury. So he falls back onto his old time killer after having read his books a hundred times each.

So that is why when shouting emanates from down the hall and Cross bursts through the door he is in the middle of doing a handstand. Not even wobbling at the sudden intrusion he looks at Cross between his arms waiting for his door to shut and Cross to start explaining what chaos he caused this time. Although an upside down skeleton definitely raises many questions Cross shakes his head and throws his hands up in pleading manner. With a huff the little skele hears the running steps already headed this way, so he rebalances onto one hand and points under his bed. Which gives Cross only an instant to literally dive under the bed before Horror throws open the door. Horror in the heat of the chase catches the first collection of bones he comes across.

“Woah! Hey, don’t like… I would ask what’s up but that would be me obviously.” The little skele hangs upside down by his ankle. “Uh, Horror, not that I think you would _drop_ by for no reason…”

“Why are ya upside down?” Horror carefully places the little skele back on his hands and although he wobbles he stays that way with a grin. “Wait, where did Cross go?”

A careful glance over to his bed reveals miss matched eye lights peeking out from under the bed. So instead of letting his focus stay there the little skele looks back up to Horror who is looking around the room but not actually exploring, that would be a breach of privacy. This is getting a little awkward.

“I can give you a new perspective.” The little skele is practicing his puns with the others to the great annoyance of Nightmare, he isn’t really good at it. “But it might turn the whole search up on its head.”

“Alright I’ll bite…” Horror tilts his head at the little skele. “What are ya doing? Practicing for the circus.”

“It’s just an exercise. Keeps the uh, um, shoot, I remember the word, give me a second… claustrophobia at bay.” The little skele admits rising to his fingertips. “I didn’t figure anyone would be awake for a while longer so I am only about half way through my routine.”

“Ya do this every morning?” Horror sits down cross legged to stop craning both their necks. “How much earlier do you wake up than the rest of us?”

“Somewhere between two and three hours.” The little skele switches to balance all of his weight to his left hand. “And every day since my ribs were declared healed.”

“Ya definitely act like a Blue/Berry…” Horror rests his elbow on his knee and then his head on his palm. “Cross I hear ya sneaking, ya going to abandon him to my mercy.”

“Now that’s dirty pool.” Cross takes his hand off the handle and comes over. “I was dared.”

“Maybe ya should be more careful what dares ya take.” Horror pulls him down into his lap but moves to do nothing else. “So, what else ya got to do?”

“You are bombarding him with questions.” Cross huffs stuck laying over Horror’s lap watching as the little skele switches to his other hand. “Trade off questions at least.”

“Hmm, good idea, first one ya had all morning.” Horror roughly pets Cross’s head. “Answer mine and ya can ask something… Or if ya want we can leave.”

“Well, there is only so much I can do without equipment so it is more of me just going through the different exercises I can over and over. To give my arms a bit of a rest I have been hooking my legs over the of foot bed and doing sit ups.” The little skele twists so he can fall back to his feet without kicking the other two. “So, I get to ask a question now… Am I allowed to spar with you guys, so I can learn at least some kind of fighting since this whole magic thing isn’t going anywhere?”

“Ya wouldn’t like it, at least at first. We hurt each other, not with any real intent to kill or anything but it’s real fighting.” Horror tries to explain as he watches the kid move to his next exercise. “We don’t know what ya can take or dish out so it would take some adjusting… We wouldn’t take it easy on ya on purpose but ya wouldn’t really ever win either.”

“I kinda just want to move.” The little skele takes very little notice of the two staring at him. “Not just sit on the side lines moving magic through my bones.”

“We will see what we can do. Nightmare makes the call.” Horror’s eye light is tracking the little skele’s movements almost like it is hypnotizing. “Why haven’t ya asked ‘bout our AUs, or other AUs in general?”

“Seemed like a long talk no one had time for.” The little skele pulls himself all the way up to sit on the foot of the bed a little winded. “I’m not on my own right? So it can just be spread out to what I need to know when I need to know it.”

“No.” Horror narrows his sockets. “Ya ain’t alone but knowing ‘bout stuff is just…”

“I think he is trying to say that you don’t have to wait to be spoon fed information that even if you don’t need it but just want it you should be able to find out.” Cross sits up in Horror’s lap, now just enjoying the cuddling as Horror rests his chin on the top of his head. “Nightmare has a huge library if you ever want to just go and look stuff up yourself.”

“Oh.” The little skele slips from his bed and opens his closet door. “Can you tell me about your AUs? If it’s okay.”

Before either skeleton can figure out who should go first they are brought to a sudden halt in thought as the little skele scales up the door frame of his closet. They watch him go through a whole set of pull-ups and is readjusting to do chin-ups before they are both slightly chuckling at the antics. It isn’t until he is readjusting again, this time with a hand on each side of the frame and he has to be careful not to pull up too far and hit his head, that they collect themselves.

“I am getting tired just watching ya.” Horror laughs a bit more. “Well… I guess we will let the others decide how they are going to tell ya about their own AUs but neither of us have a verse to return to anymore.”

“My verse was destroyed by an experiment that my Gaster was running. I was the only one that survived but I got a front row seat to what a universe goes through when it is left to destroy itself without the help of us ‘Bad Sans’ to help.” Cross curls up into Horror a bit more both having forgotten their little tiff from earlier. “All that is left is anti-void… white, as far as you can see. Ink visited my verse at first but the insane creator soon forgot more often than he remembered. I was going insane when Nightmare found me. It had been years on my own and I was willing to do anything to get out of there. Away from the thoughts, I could swear I could hear them still calling for help somewhere in that white…”

“Easy Cross, he doesn’t want ya to explain if it is too painful. We are trying to be good examples.” Horror rubs Cross’s back as the little skele drops down to check on him as well not sure what to do. “My verse, the kid left with all the collected Souls, and only Asgore’s death on their hands… Fishbitch took the crown and…” Horror taps close to the hole in his skull. “Things are a bit fuzzy around then… Snowdin was cut off from most of the rest of the underground. We were starving, hardly surviving, many going feral… we… we resorted to desperate measures… Anyways, trauma, Nightmare offered resources in return for my assistance… I ended up agreeing. Would bring Paps here occasionally but he didn’t like leaving the others fending for themselves they needed his great cooking skills… So I just visited often and brought enough food for him to share like I knew he would… So cool… I went back one day and he was gone. Someone decided they would be better at dividing up the supplies or to cut out the middle man or whatever… The kid had decided not to come back. So, so did I.”

“We have all suffered in different ways, so don’t go thinking you didn’t have it as bad or any of that nonsense because we have all done that and it isn’t fair to anyone.” Cross pulls the little skele into their laps to snuggle. “You are sweaty.”

“I’ve been working out for over an hour and a half.” The little skele playfully bristles. “I haven’t had a chance to cool down or change or anything.”

“Please tell me ya have been doing more than rinsing off in a sink.” Horror recalls the talk he had with the kid a week ago and watches him quickly glance away. “No one would care if ya took two showers a day but we will if ya are only taking one every other week.”

“What!? But we have all those cool bathbombs to add to the water.” Cross seems almost genuinely offended but glances some quick emotion across the little skele’s face. “When is the last time you got a bath?”

“That’s what you are going to waste your question on after I…” The little skele gets two deadpan looks at his weak deflection tactic. “I don’t know, didn’t Nightmare give me one to help with that crack to my spine?”

“Fine.” Horror huffs as the little skele ducks his head. “When is the last one you were conscious of taking?”

“Um, Horror, did he…?” Cross lifts the little skele to get a look at his face. “Hey! You are okay! Remember you don’t have to answer!”

“What is going on in here?” Nightmare steps in as he sees the little skele’s features seem to check back in. “I thought I told everyone to be careful with questioning him.”

“We asked him about baths.” Horror quickly defends helping Cross to lift the little skele into a sitting position. “We were going back into what we thought is safe territory.”

“Then why could I feel you two half way across the castle.” Nightmare crosses his arms looking unconvinced. “What happened?”

“Ow, why does it feel like someone just shoved a needle through my socket.” The little skele grouches as he gives his head a shake like that will shuffle his thoughts back into place. “Nightmare, when did you…?”

“This will sound stupid but are you aware that you have repressed memories?” Nightmare watches the little skele study him quizzically. “No, no you are not… Last thing you recall them saying.”

“Cross asked about my last bath, I told him the one you gave me.” The little skele is still rubbing at his skull. “Hmm, I was told I messed up a test, flinched, and they hit something they weren’t aiming for and it just causes a brief spike of pain, then I have a headache for about ten minutes. You think I repressed stuff… Why? I remember plenty of bad stuff.”

“They stuck needles in yer sockets!?” Horror cringes scratching at the edge of his empty socket as the little skele nods. “Non-skeletons? Probably didn’t even know how dangerous that is…”

“Hug?” Cross holds his arms out for the little skele again who is still looking a bit detached. “Then we can set you up a nice bath… Ooh, I have an extra suit we can take one together, just in case.”

Nightmare watches the little skele fighting to keep his mind away from the mental glitch that he just went through. Something bleeds through though and the little skele quickly hides himself in Cross’s arms, whether it is to hide his expression or from the memory isn’t clear. The little skele just nods his head at the ideas Cross is offering.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: talks of questionable medical practice, tragic back story for Horror and Cross.
> 
> I know I was asked what happened to Sugar, well...
> 
> Little skele stays clean, just not in a very efficient or satisfying way... They are working on it.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little skele definitely has some confidence issues and Nightmare forgets he can't just treat all his boys the same.
> 
> Day Count: 23

“I told you when you asked at lunch yesterday that if you can’t prove even this much magic control then I wasn’t going to allow it.” Nightmare stood on the sidelines with the little skele as the others set up a tournament rotation. “If you can summon some ecto somewhere before we get through the bottom tier maybe we can squeeze in a small spar for you… There’s some real motivation for you so…”

Nightmare noticed the low blow as soon as he says it and the little skele flinches and tries to ready some form of come back. Most of his boys would have taken it in stride and just pushed themselves for the next hour. This one thought he meant it and is disappointed in him for not doing his best which Nightmare knew he was by the improvement he has shown. It is improving Nightmare’s ability to monitor the magic lines in others as well but the little skele still proves difficult so it took bits of magic infusion and removing unnecessary articles of clothes to see, hence him being the only shirtless skeleton in the room.

Not defending himself the little skele goes from hunched shoulders to slumped as he turns his back to Nightmare and moves across the room from him. He doesn’t bother to turn back to the room in general and just begins focusing on the magic flow through his body. It is supposed to be something natural and every explanation so far had just caused further confusion. Forcing the magic flow made him fidgety like Cross on too much sugar, that had been a fun lunch.

So glancing over his shoulder to make sure no one is monitoring him at the moment he gets back to his feet. Even that little bit of movement is a relief and once again checking that he isn’t about to be reprimanded he begins a slow walk around the edge of the room, even less tension trying to find an escape. Letting go of all the words that have been thrown at him about magic the little skele just breathes and feels what his magic wants to do.

It wants him to keep moving now that he is, fine, that won’t hurt anyone. Placing his hand on the wall so he can shut out the room, he can’t participate anyways. Stop being small, walk properly so the magic can stretch and release the pressure from the joints. How is the magic doing it? Moving each bone in a way that is walking. Reaching the bones out to brush gently against the wall, just enough to keep him on track. It is always doing it, always technically there so…

The little skele stops and looks at his hands moving the fingers in tandem. Between one blink and the next he suddenly has what looks like gloves up to his elbows. It is as see through as his Soul and there is an instant sudden pang of panic. He shakes his hands like he just saw a bug land on them. Must of shouted too because he is suddenly surrounded by skeletons as he hugs himself.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” He quickly assures glancing at his arms just to make sure. “I didn’t think that would work. Just startled.”

“Work? You managed to summon something?” Killer asks excited, they had all noticed how much this was bothering the little skele and how hard he is pushing himself. “Can you show us?”

“Uhhh, maybe, just… I need space, I am still kinda afraid of what my magic can do to you guys…” That bit of honesty seemed to cost the little skele something. “Sorry.”

“Nah, you’re good.” Dust pats his back. “Other people keep telling you something sometimes it takes a while to convince yourself otherwise.”

Despite the encouragement they give him the bit of space that he has requested to put him more at ease. Watching his hands he moves the fingers just like last time trying not to let himself become too focused on the results or the how or anything, just letting it. There are suddenly several exclamations of excitement and he looks to the others before looking at the results. He smiles hugely even as Cross tackles him suddenly in a side hug he can barely manage to counter balance to keep upright.

“Woah, easy, I really don’t know what my magic can do.” The little skele doesn’t actually try to pull away though. “It doesn’t really feel different.”

“May I?” Nightmare steps up trying not to look too proudly at the little skele, who holds his hands out to him. “You’re holding the form, impressive… I know you just figured this out but can you summon anywhere else… Your legs or torso maybe.”

“Look at what Cross hugging you did.” Dust points out the magic transfer and notices the little skele go very still. “Knock it off. I have seen the pictures of Cross cuddling you for hours, if that didn’t hurt him then neither will this.”

“Horror, you were supposed to delete that.” Cross wails not removing his arms from around the little skele’s ribs and humerous. “Why would you share it?”

“Because it is adorable.” Horror grins and reaches over to run a finger down the kids arm earning him a sudden shiver from him. “Ya alright there?”

“Horror, we should probably be careful touching his ecto until he is more used to it. Especially since he has been touch starved for so long.” Nightmare stares at the frozen skele in Cross’s arms trying to process what just happened. Nightmare feels another kick in the gut as other situations suddenly pop in his head that now seems a hundred times worse. “Cross, is he holding himself up or are you?”

“He seems to be holding most of his own weight but I am not sure if he just jerked or tried to fall over.” Cross loosens his grip a bit. “That is so cool. You could draw on his ecto with your magic.”

“Don’t… I think it is just a bit of sensory overload, give him a minute.” Nightmare sighs watching the little skele slowly blink back into awareness. “Do you want Cross to let you go?”

Like he can’t feel the arms around him the little skele looks down to confirm that Cross is indeed still holding onto him. After another whole body shiver seems to jumps start his system a bit he takes a deep breath and just shrugs. A bit of thought later and that same clear magic covers the little skele’s lower ribs down to his pelvis.

“Don’t really know how but I can do it.” The little skele looks so proud of himself as he looks up to Nightmare for approval. “So, can I maybe try a spar?”

“That was the deal was it not?” Nightmare watches him light up not even having gotten any actual praise. “You have worked really hard to accomplish this… Let’s get started if we don’t want to have too late of a dinner.”

Nightmare immediately knocks Cross over the head with a tentacle as he attempts to lift the little skele from the floor to carry him across the room. His sudden release causes him to stumble and although the little skele catches himself several hands reach out to catch him. It is Nightmare’s tentacle around his wrist pulling him from the rest that finally gets everyone else moving back over to the benches.

“Who did I get partnered against.” The little skele asks hesitantly still being held by Nightmare.

“Me, want to just go hand to hand?” Killer steps next to the little skele as Nightmare finally stops. “You don’t use weapons and can’t use attack magic, so it sounds fair.”

“Okay.” The little skele looks up excitedly just wanting to prove himself. “I will try not to be a poor fight.”

“Are we really ignoring the fact that he’s ripped!?” Dust outbursts straggling behind the group. “Cuz that’s not fair!”

Everyone had turned to listen to Dust’s outcry but upon realizing what he said turn back to the little skele who looks at his still summoned ecto. His arms are toned and he has defined abs. Though the clear magic made it hard to make out unless, he stood just right, which he had apparently done if Dust had taken notice.

“I don’t see ya getting up early and doing hours of exercising.” Horror shrugs quite proud of the fact that he has a bit of a belly, meant he had plenty to eat. “How long have ya been working out like that? Ya don’t have ta answer.”

“Not sure, just got bored one day and remembered seeing one of Papyrus’s magazines on the coffee table. No one ever stopped me.” The little skele shrugs. “Well from exercising, guess they figured if I was spending the energy it was less I had and they didn’t need to actually let me out. Papyrus hid his magazines better so I don’t know much or if I am even doing it right.”

“Obviously doing something correct.” Cross thinks for a moment tapping his chin. “I think I eat too much chocolate.”

“Understatement.” Dust deadpans at Cross. “Seriously, you work out every morning… You always come out of your room…”

“Doesn’t leave his room to exercise. He has managed that with basic stuff.” Cross informs impressed even more than when he had watched the little skeleton exercising. “Could you imagine what he would look like if he had proper equipment?”

“What the hell?” Dust whines wandering over to a bench to plop down.

“He’ll get over it.” Killer assures. “He tried for a while but couldn’t stick with it, so it’s his own fault really.”

Nightmare continues to study the little skele. He knew from experience fighting Blue, one of the Star Sanses his brother had collected, who boosted his power by adding actual strength behind his magic. So why did this little skeleton’s ATK still sit at zero. Noticing him becoming unsure under all of the attention Nightmare throws him his shirt.

“No unfair distractions.” Nightmare teases. “Cover up, and you can unsummon the ecto if you want.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween!
> 
> This was the last day of the daily posts and I am now going to try to stick to a schedule. I will try for Tuesday and Friday unless I start to run low on cushion. Someone asked for Saturday when I was asking but with work my editing suffers and I start stressing about stupid details, sorry.
> 
> If you guys want I will add my twitter and tumbler to the overall end notes. Not much there now but it's whatever.
> 
> Glad so many are enjoying this. There is quite a mess to come before we even get to the second part so I hope you guys stick around.
> 
> Thanks for all the kudos and comments and everything so far.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A spar between Killer and the little skele. Lets see what the newest member of the gang can do.
> 
> Day Count: 23

Killer had expected the little skele to grow nervous watching the others sparring instead of it just being background noise. Instead he watched eagerly not taking his eyes from the two fighting skeletons and listening to any commentary raptly. Horror had won the spar against Cross by raw strength not giving the other a chance to gain the distance he needed for his agility to be effective. Nightmare had carefully given a blow by blow explaining what the tactics were and why they were working before Cross finally called his loss. Cross sat next to the little skele and then fell over into his lap looking for a sympathetic ally. Although becoming quickly distracted by the next spar between Nightmare and Dust, the little skele let his hands fall to Cross’s skull and shoulder in comfort. Killer is not quite as good as Nightmare is with a play by play but did his best and the little skele seemed just as rapt. Dust had thrown some good attacks at Nightmare but stood no chance as he is maneuvered to exhaustion and finally caught in a tangle of tentacles before calling it.

“Alright, it is your turn. This is your first spar and not that I don’t trust you to call it yourself but if I feel like it is going too far I will call it.” Nightmare explains dropping a panting Dust next to Cross, who sits up to release the little skele. “You can call it at any time. Do not think you have something to prove to anyone here… Killer, do not go overboard.”

Killer gives Nightmare a bit of a salute and moves out to the middle of the training room. The little skele looks as if he is vibrating waiting for Nightmare to give him the okay, a look deep in the little skele’s eyes told Nightmare he still half expects this to be taken away from him. With a heavy sigh Nightmare just nods his head toward Killer so the little skele will go figuring he could intervene when necessary, it wouldn’t be the first time. The little skele runs off before anyone can change their minds.

“That’s my stance.” Cross sat up straighter watching the little skele stand before Killer. “At least a very good imitation… not off really enough to hurt much.”

Killer is starting off as usual with his hands in his jacket pockets, it isn’t a slight against the little skele no, the little skele is an unknown and thus dangerous. He had also taken notice of the stance Cross often started with and watches for a tell of where the little skele planned to run and what he planned to do. Yet the little skele is watching Killer not moving, even his quivering has completely stopped. Figuring the little skele didn’t know how to start Killer takes the advantage intending to take the fight much like Horror had against Cross earlier.

“Look out!” Cross called out uselessly as Killer kicked out at the little skele’s skull.

The little skele moved just enough for Killer’s kick to miss and still keep his eye lights on Killer for his next attack. Killer’s eye lights flicker with interest and he grins as he lands back on his feet. It never pays to give your opponent too much time to breath so Killer keeps up a string of kicks, all of them just missing the little skele. Hoping to catch the little skele off guard Killer finally pulls his hands from his pockets. Throwing a punch, probably stronger than it needed to be, at the little skele, Killer is a bit shocked to see the dodge. It is graceful; he spun down Killer’s arm so that he ends with his chest to Killer’s back only a few inches of space between them. Had he actually acted once there it would have been a good move but the little skele doesn’t; at least not before Killer’s instincts kick in. Out of reaction, Killer aims a kick backwards and up. It looks like it is going to connect with the little skele’s sternum but his kick doesn’t reach far enough, the little skele has stepped back just enough to not be hit.

“Holy shit.” Dust breaths. “He… He didn’t do this when… not this well.”

“He wasn’t sure he was allowed.” Nightmare informs. “He didn’t know why you were angry but that you were angry at him. You two have talked haven’t you?”

“Just enough to apologize.” Dust admits. “It’s just awkward if I try.”

Nightmare would have chastised Dust about his poor attempt at getting to good terms with another resident of the hideout but something on the training grounds brought his attention back to the spar. The little skele took a deep breath as Killer regained his balance but didn’t retake any ground. Both sparring skeletons move at the same time and Nightmare steps forward not sure why he suddenly felt he needed to protect _Killer_. Killer’s knee catches under the little skele’s jaw snapping his head back, making his eye lights go fuzzy, stumble backwards completely boneless for a moment before catching himself, and not returning to a defensive stance.

“Enough!” Nightmare calls out when the fuzzy eye lights go out and he goes to halt Killer from following up his last attack but finds he doesn’t have to. “…”

_Both_ skeletons are standing but unresponsive in front of each other. Cautiously, knowing at least Killer could come out of this swinging, Nightmare steps forward to check on them. The others follow mostly out of curiosity. Upon approaching, Nightmare studies Killer’s stance: one foot slightly back from where he caught himself from falling back, arms slack at his sides, head down looking off to the side slightly, and his jaw already had a bit of discoloration. Killer twitches and Nightmare moves the others back. Then Killer glances around as if he isn’t quite sure what he was doing just a moment ago.

“Killer?” Nightmare tries to give Killer a point to focus on. “Where are you?”

“Training room.” Killer looks around repositioning himself from how he is slightly leaning back. “Sparring… Ow.”

A thump from over where the other skeleton had been standing distracts them from Killer. The little skeleton is now lying on the ground having lost his precarious balance as he started to recollect himself. Killer moves to be the first to check on the other but still hasn’t completely recovered and his feet only shuffle forward a few steps.

“Gotcha.” Dust puts himself under Killer’s arm. “Let’s check on him.”

Lying on the ground the little skele is trying to shake sense back into his skull while glaring at the ceiling, which is moving in an unnerving way. Then there are five skulls looking down at him with a bit of concern and he softens his glare into surprise. He gives them a bit of a wave, earning him some small chuckles.

“I… err.” The little skele attempted to speak but doing so shot pain through his jaw causing him to groan and curl up. “Ow, wha…?”

“Take it easy.” Nightmare pulls the little skele’s hands away from the bottom half of his face. “If talking hurts then I won’t bother asking a bunch of questions of you… Open.”

A bit of a whimper escapes his teeth as he forces them to part for Nightmare’s examination. No cracks were inflicted from the blow that had connected. Although there is a nice bruise the shape of Killer’s patella blooming under his chin. Slowly Nightmare assists the little skele back to his feet allowing Cross to take over when he sways drunkenly. Cross catches him under the arms from behind when the little skele seems to lose his footing.

“Are you slipping?” Cross chuckles, as the little skele looks down betrayed by his own legs. “You were practically dancing earlier now you can’t take a step… Sorry, can you get your feet back under you?”

Wrapping his arms down on Cross’s arms the little skele lifts himself up so that his feet are back flat on the floor. His legs still feel a bit shaky so he allows Cross to adjust him under his arm. Being smaller they have to get a bit creative as the little skele puts his arm behind Cross’s back and hand on his shoulder. Cross puts his arm over the closest shoulder crossing his back and grasps under the opposite arm. This gets them back to the bench at least.

“Damn, can’t believe that connected.” Killer rubs the bruise on his jaw. “Wow, you pack a punch. Not much damage but good aim.”

“But your hit knocked me down.” The little skele pronounces his words carefully wary of the pain. “Too risky, shouldn’t have.”

“Well that is why we spar. It is better to realize that here than against someone willing to kill you out there.” Killer gently pats the others shoulder. “And your hit might not have had me on the ground but I was out, not sure how long though.”

“Neither of ya were out but a minute, if that.” Horror informs flicking through his phone taking notes on something. “And ya didn’t hit the ground till ya were coming back round. See?”

“What the… ouch, how’s your neck?” Killer gently moves the little skele’s head back and forth a bit. “And why were you taking pictures?”

“Wasn’t the only one.” Horror shrugs unconcerned. “Plus it’s the kid’s first knock out. Receiving and delivering.”

“Wait!” Killer sat up straight. “Does that kick me out of the tournament?”

“Heh, yep.” Horror pops the ‘p’ hard looking up from his phone. “Knocked out of the running.”

“Fuck!” Killer tries to flop back forgetting that he is sitting on a bench and falls back onto the ground. “You’re hard to hit you know that.”

“Crap, that means I have to fight Nightmare now.” Horror tosses his phone in his inventory.

“You looked like you picked up some of your fighting from DanceTale.” Cross contemplates. “And maybe us as well. Have you ever fought before?”

“I don’t count.” Dust mumbles before the little skele starts thinking. “Just in case you were curious.”

“Then I guess that was my first fight.” The little skele only glances quickly at Dust before going back to the conversation. “I don’t know if DanceTale was one of the AUs I was stuck in but I guess there is that one that I could see why it would be called that… Their fighting is based off dance styles… Ran when the Papyrus got interested in the little monster living in alleyways. It was nice to watch.”

“You know… most classic Papyrus are overly nice, haven’t met a bad person.” Killer still lays with his legs up on the bench. “As long as it’s not a fell verse, if for some reason you get separated from us…”

“You’ll hide and we will be back for you.” Nightmare interrupts. “A Papyrus will go to his brother and a Sans will contact Ink, even if they don’t realize who you are.”

“Yeah, suppose you are right. Would be mad if my Paps didn’t bring a suspicious monster to my attention.” Killer sighs, not liking that the little innocent skele could not find help outside of them. “Least we know you can knock someone out and have time to get away… Speaking of which, there is no change to my HP.”

“What? Your jaw is bruised, that punch had to have shaved off something.” Dust CHECKS Killer just to makes sure. “How the…?”

“Hardly felt it.” Killer admits. “Kinda aches now but not bad. Very impressive.”

It takes several moments of contemplation before the little skele finally takes all of this in as the compliment they were trying to make it. He raises his head with a genuine large smile on his face to accept it and not argue against it. Cross hugs the little skele’s midsection so he is half laying in his lap again.

“Alright, Horror, you ready yet?” Nightmare acts like he wasn’t standing there making sure the two were alright as well. “I have paperwork to get back to.”

CHECK

Skeleton

HP 18/20

LV 1

EXP 0

ATK 0

DEF -

Doesn’t mind the ache

Not sure about causing pain

Can exist here

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you don't mind the short fight. I am of the belief fights don't last long, it takes up a skeleton of energy. 
> 
> Guess I will post again Friday... I don't know who is suffering worse with the schedule, me or you guys.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cross is an influence
> 
> Day Count: 30

“H3’s 1mpr-r-r3ss1v3.” Error stood watching a spar between Horror and the little skele. “4ll 1n j-j-just 4 w33ks?”

“He is fine as long as he doesn’t try to attack, he hesitates and even when he hits, which he does more than not, he gets hit with a counter of some sort.” Nightmare shakes his head, not sure why they were teaching him to fight anyways but even Cross has to sometimes, is it a good idea to even put the little skele out there. “Something else, I don’t think I have ever seen anyone manage something like this. Dust, Killer double team. Incoming!”

Horror glances to the side to see Dust and Killer coming for them and his grin broadens as he switches his focus. There is a slight pressure against his back there and gone. They exchange a flurry of blows until Dust breaks through and starts making attempts at Horror’s blindside.

This is where Error sees what is going on. The little skele is back to back with Horror; practically hidden in his shadow moving with Horror so well that if you didn’t know he was there you would not see him. Using minute amount of pressure, the little skele is getting Horror to move out of the way of anything he couldn’t see or detect. Nightmare adds to the fray with a surprise sharp bone attack aiming for the smaller. Again, neither are touched until Horror starts slowing down and starts taking nicks.

“This is where it falls apart.” Nightmare informs so Error can watch for it. “He doesn’t know what he should do.”

The little skele attempts to lash out at Dust. It comes out as an exchange of blows. Dust connects against the lower ribs of the little skeleton with his foot while the little skele’s fist glances the side of Dust’s skull. Although Dust is off balance, slightly dazed by the blow, the little skele doesn’t have the weight to hold his ground and is sent flying. Horror is left with the opening to knock Dust from the fight but Killer and him stop at a draw.

“Patch yourselves up.” Nightmare calls out before turning back to Error for his opinion. “His abilities would be so useful to the other side. He could police the fragile Sans without fear of dusting them. He can sync up with any of the others just like with Horror.”

“4r3 y0u r-r-r3gr3tt1ng t4k1ng h1m 1n?” Error looks at the other dark skeleton. “W-w-w3 4lr34dy kn0w h3 w0uld-d-dn’t b3 w3lc0m3 4nywh3r3 3ls3. 1’v3 r34d h1s f1l3s, wh4t’s n-n-n0t stup1dly 3ncr9pt3d.”

“I won’t pity him. I expect him to get over it… He’s still here isn’t he?” Nightmare quickly goes defensive. “If we can’t take him on missions then I don’t want him getting his hopes up.”

“H3 1s n-n-n0t 4 f1ght3r-r-r.” Error shakes his head at both Nightmare feeling the sudden need to show his defensive side to him and the thought of expecting that little skeleton to kill. “Wh4t w3r-r-r3 y0u th1nk1ng 0f d01ng w-w-w1th h1m?”

“What is it with you and his ribs?” Killer laughs checking the little skele’s ribs while taking a jab at Dust. “Just some bruising and bit of abrasion from hitting the ground.”

“That’s what he presented.” Dust huffs rubbing his head where he landed after Horror’s strike. “Did you do that on purpose so Horror could hit me?”

“Ya need to stop that.” Horror interjects when the little skele chuckles a bit guiltily and it makes the little skele’s smile fall. “Suicidal tendencies are bad to practice.”

“Sorry.” The little skele mumbles. “But I can’t hit anyone.”

“Hey!” Cross calls from the door. “Lunch is ready!”

“Up?” Horror offers his back to the little skele who after a deep breath accepts the offer. “Come on then.”

The little skele quickly climbs up gripping the shoulders of Horror’s jacket so he doesn’t make Horror feel strangled. It still feels odd being off the ground like this under someone else’s strength but not unsafe like he did when he first arrived. Horror puts his arms back to secure the little skele he can still hardly feel the weight of on his back.

“G1v3 h1m 4 ch4n-n-nc3 wh3n y0u g0 0n 4 r3l13f m1ss10n.” Error suggests. “Tr9 h1m 0ut 1n d1ff-f-f3r3nt r0l3s.”

“We should make plans for one. No one has asked recently but it shouldn’t be put off for too much longer.” Nightmare starts trailing after everyone to get lunch. “Best to put him with Cross. Scouting and shopping… Need to get him more clothes; he only has three things that fit. Room is still pretty bare too.”

Error does not interrupt Nightmare’s sudden musings. He knows Nightmare cares for all his boys of which the little skele is already one but can’t show it anywhere except in the hideout where he occasionally forgets he’s allowed to. When Nightmare finally realizes what he’s doing he looks to Error to see if he noticed and unashamedly Error smirks.

“Fresh!” The little skele calls out from the living room as they are walking through and a colorful portal opens. “Been awhile.”

“Hey, little bruh.” Fresh laughs seeing the little skele clinging to Horror’s back. “How’s it hanging?”

“Cross just finished lunch.” The little skele announces not knowing how hard it is to get the other to stay to eat. “Are you going to join us?”

Nightmare almost flares up to tell the little skele not to push Fresh since he just got here but Fresh’s smile makes him hesitate. “Sound like a plan.”

No one comments on how easily the little skele got him to come eat, not wanting to jinx it. Instead they just continue into the dining room where Cross set out all the things they could need for tacos. Cross had insisted on this lunch after realizing the little skele had never had a taco before. Horror examines the spread looking for all the spicy toppings so he could avoid them and warn the little skele, he would definitely need to sit next to him for this meal.

“Nooo. I refuse.” The little skele whines as Nightmare takes his seat. “There are too many movies out there, how am I supposed to choose.”

“You are going to have to get over that eventually.” Dust laughs as the little skele flops over the arm of his chair dramatically, Cross is rubbing off on him too much. “I keep coming into the living room to find you just sitting on the couch staring at the ceiling.”

“Maybe it would be better for the little dude if we all found a few of our favorites and set them aside so it isn’t as daunting.” Fresh reasons knowing the gang can kind of offer a lot at times. “You totally have like a billion movies.”

“Oh, Fresh, they are finally letting me train with them.” The little skele changes the subject excitedly. “Although I am still only really good at evading.”

“Pretty sure I already knew that you were good at dodging.” Fresh slightly chuckles. “Being able to throw a punch isn’t everything, bruh. So no luck on the magic.”

“Can’t form attacks, not so much as a bullet.” The little skele is back to pouting but is nudged to start making food. “What should I put on this?”

“You should have seen Dust’s reaction to his ecto though.” Killer laughs at Dust’s expense as Horror helps the little skele make his tacos. “Don’t get me wrong kid is toned but Dust…”

“And it does that cool color changing so you could draw on him if he would let you.” Cross quickly informs exacerbated at still being denied this new drawing platform. “Wait Fresh has rainbow magic how would that look?”

Horror notices the little skele trying to avoid this conversation and when he sees the opportunity pretends to be wiping something off his face to be rewarded with the evidence that the little skele is blushing. His amused chuckle gives him away though as the little skele notices some stares and he playfully pushes Horror away. A few head skritches earns Horror forgiveness and they return to eating. Everyone is enjoying the food and company until everyone has their fill. Nightmare chases them all from the table and towards the living room.

“Now show Fresh your ecto.” Cross insists practically bouncing in place. “I want to see how his magic reacts.”

“Nah, not if you’re not comfortable.” Fresh shakes his head. “Would be cool but…”

“It’s just that… If I do, no touching without asking.” The little skele still looks uncertain. “It can be over whelming and if I am not ready…”

“Yes.” Cross pumps his arms in triumph. “It’s so cool.”

“Wait.” The little skele notice only Fresh and Cross are paying him attention and he whispers. “Want to see if we can get a reaction out of the others.”

“Definitely.” Cross nods his head dizzyingly fast as Fresh shrugs but looks interested. “What are we doing?”

The little skele leads the other two to one of the unoccupied rooms just off the hall that leads out of the living room. Pulling off the sleeveless t-shirt that the little skele wore he summons the ecto for his arms and from his shoulders to his pelvis. Both the others look impressed at the little skele. After a moment of overcoming his uncomfortableness the little skele breaks their looks of awe by jokingly flexing his muscles.

“Alright, Cross, this is where you shine.” The little skele chuckles. “Make some kind of pattern that will shock the others.”

“Hahaha, this is going to be rad.” Fresh tries not to be too loud. “Should we see what my magic looks like?”

“Wait. Um…” The little skele fights his nervousness. “I should tell you what is happening…” Fresh blinks at the little skele taking a deep breath. “My magic absorbs unused magic you put off. Nightmare said it is harmless and it hasn’t hurt anyone but I still wanted to let you know.”

“Alright, cool, good to know.” Fresh looks unaffected by the information. “I know you won’t hurt me.”

Already having an idea of how he wants the design to turn out Cross directs Fresh to take the little skele’s wrists. They all examine the results and ogle at it as Cross thinks again, at how he wants this to turn out. It turns in to a laughing fit several times, between how the design is coming out and the little skele’s reaction to some of the touches, apparently, he is very ticklish.

“Radicle.” Fresh wipes tear from his face from his last laughing fit. “You look awesome.”

“Alright, now before it fades.” The little skele opens the door. “Let’s go.”

“You sure?” Cross is giggling secretly pulling out his phone. “I mean you haven’t even seen the movie you are about to quote.”

“I want to.” The little skele is smiling widely still giddy from all the laughing glancing out the door and nodding. “It will be fun right?”

“Definitely, bruh.” Fresh nods, both him and Cross feeling a bit of a twinge at the genuine concern behind that question. “As long as you’re good.”

“Alright, let’s go!” The little skele bolts out of the room followed by the other two not realizing Cross is filming. “You tell me where my suit is! We are talking about the greater good!”

The little skele jumps onto the couch between Horror and Killer and stands up on the back looking around the room like he is searching for something but actually taking in the reactions. Then before anyone can get their bearings he bolts off down another hall Fresh right behind him as Cross takes a moment to make sure he had gotten everyone’s reaction.

“The public is in danger!” The little skele calls from down the hall.

“NO CAPES!” Cross shouts as he takes off to catch up to the other two.

“…”

“…” Dust blinks and looks at the others from where he sat in front of the TV trying to set up the game system. “What just happened?”

The stunned effect is wearing off now that one of them had spoken. Nightmare rubs his socket as he sits up but doesn’t get up to go after anyone. Horror glances over to Killer who is turning to put an arm on the back of the couch so he can look off in the direction the others ran. Error who had instinctually summoned strings at the sudden commotion is sitting forward looking down the hall when he dissolved into glitching laughter and falls back into his chair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't consider their sparring true violence but if you think it deserves a warning let me know.
> 
> Also Error's speech, is it too hard to read? If so I can remove the stutter to be assumed but I tried to make it as simple as uniform as I could so it's translatable. 
> 
> I am also aware it is not a direct quote but the little skele remembered it the best he could (also terrified copyright or something will come for me).


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at bottom
> 
> Day Count: 33
> 
> "Shopping" trip

“Guys?” The little skele walks the halls in search of the gang. “Nightmare wants us all in the living room. Eep!”

“Shh.” Horror quickly pulled the little skele into his room where everyone is standing around holding a piece of paper. “We’ll head out in a sec.”

“I don’t know about this.” Cross looks to the little skele. “He is too new and this is supposed to be a test outing for him anyways.”

“He doesn’t have to and what’s it matter, he probably won’t have the opportunity anyways.” Killer shrugs handing over an extra sheet of paper. “Here, we have a bet going and you are part of the group so you can join if you want.”

“The bet is a whole cake of your choosing, losers have to make it or obtain it at your request.” Dust explains. “Get this paper on any of the Star wimps backs and you win.”

The little skele is getting used to watching them bet and dare each other for all sorts of things. This is the first time he has been pulled in to actually participate and not be the target or just in the middle of the chaos. Knowing he probably wouldn’t win the skele nods resolutely wanting to just be a part of it. Folding the piece of paper that read “Pinch me I’m a DORK” he puts it in his pocket. The others doing similarly, he receives many head pats as they start filing out to the living room.

“Alright, now we a running this as a shopping trip first, then you guys can have your fun. Dust you can set up that design you requested for a test run.” Nightmare goes through a checklist on a piece of paper. “Killer we went with your AU choice this time… I am not in any desperate need of negativity at the moment so we leave as soon as opposition shows up. Cross, shopping is falling mostly on you two.”

“Already asked everyone to make lists.” Cross assures knowing Nightmare wants them to focus on getting the little skele more stuff, he hardly has a few days of clothes they scrounged up and altered. “If you think of anything else text me or you’re on your own.”

“No unapproved crazy antics, watch your backs, if anything feels off get out, do not get too far away…” Nightmare starts to lecture getting a bunch of sighs and groans. “Behave and you won’t have to hear this, every time we have a mission.”

“Yes, boss.” Horror, Killer, and Dust intoned almost bored.

“If everyone is ready…” Nightmare finishes off his speech with a few other warnings and opens portals. “Keep an eye on the time. Get going.”

\----------

“Why is everything my size striped!?” The little skele gripes just about ready to resign himself to wearing oversized clothes. “Small does not always mean child!”

“Hey, it’s alright, we have at least found plenty of pants. It’s just the shirts.” Cross assures stuffing a few more things in his inventory. “Have you seen a jacket you like yet?”

Seeing a Sans without a jacket always seemed off and the fact the little skele ran around like that constantly didn’t sit well with any of the gang. It is a token from their brother in almost every universe, something treasured and meant at least at some point they had been deeply cared for in whatever way the universe would allow in some cases. They had noticed his Papyrus had his scarf, unfortunately cementing the fact that the little skele did care for his brother.

“No, most this clothing is short sleeved.” The little skele glanced around still not familiar with the whole season change thing the surface had. “How much time have we got left.”

“Don’t worry about that, we can keep going while they have their fun.” Cross grabs a few stripped shirts behind the little skele’s back for _disguise_ use later, definitely not too soon though. “Maybe a human based store will have a better selection of non-striped apparel. Come on, I saw one down the street.”

Cross could tell this is exhausting the little skele. They had made sure to come at a time when there isn’t a lot of traffic so fewer people were watching due to some event downtown and the dreary weather. Still between the strangers everywhere around and the constant asking of what _he_ wanted it is taking a mental toll. Also the constant reminders that even though he is an adult no one seems to view him as such. Several strangers have thought he was a lost kid, or out on some kind of errand for his parents, someone had even tried to pick him up to tell him how cute he is. That had almost not ended well, luckily a police officer had stepped in telling the person they couldn’t just pick up other people’s kids like that. The little skele pouted about it all (except the being picked up that was highly upsetting) but just sort of accepted it after a few minutes.

“Here we go. Let’s try here.” Cross opens the door for the little skele. “By the way, do you have a favorite color?”

“Not really… I have a few colors I don’t like to wear.” The little skele started sifting through the racks of clothes. “Then again, as long as it is comfy I don’t guess I would complain much.”

Cross watches the little skele select some shirts of various colors that looked like they should fit him decently. Then wonder off to see what else there is and Cross quickly follows since he can’t actually see the other over the racks of clothing. Almost as if unconsciously the little skele brings his hand up to run along all the different fabrics he is passing until something causes the little skele to perk up. Holding a sleeve in his hand he rubs the fabric between his fingers.

“Well?” Cross realizes too late the little skele hadn’t noticed he was following. “Try it on, see if it is nice to wear.”

Running his hand over a similar sweater, Cross realizes the appeal, it is super soft and probably quite warm. The hideout is always rather cool but he didn’t figure the cold really bothered the little skele considering how often he is found wandering around in just shorts and the sleeveless tee Dust gave to him. Even if he is just laying about.

“That looks cozy.” Cross smiles as the little skele gets the sweater on and rubs the sleeve against his face. “Do you like it that size? We might be able to find a size smaller.”

“I like it like this.” The little skele hugged the sweater as if Cross might take it. “I can tuck my hands into the sleeves.”

“Let me see the size and I will grab a few different colors.” Cross lets the little skele get out of the sweater and hand it to him. “Then we can be done with this, sound good.”

“Finally.” The little skele slumps in relief. “I haven’t heard anything from the others yet.”

“Pretty sure we won’t be able to miss what Dust is doing.” Cross tosses everything into his inventory and starts to lead the way out of the store. “Oh, I need more colored pencils, want to come in here with me.”

Now that the shopping isn’t aimed towards him the little skele shrugs and follows across the street to some large craft store. Cross quickly has the colored pencils he wants but is soon zooming off to look at something else that caught his interest. A bit curious the little skele simply lets him go off by himself so he can peruse the shelves at his own pace. Halfway down one of the outer walls he finds wood carving tools meant for some of the more intricate designs Killer hadn’t quite ventured into yet. Pocketing it to show Cross he becomes distracted by some kind of poseable wood doll.

“Uuck. These paints taste disgusting.” A familiar voice causes the little skele to freeze afraid to look behind him into the aisle. “But I really like this color.”

A tiny plastic bead bounces off the rim of his socket causing him to flinch and with just his eye lights he looks over to see Cross, finger to his teeth. Slowly he starts breathing again not realizing he had stopped as Cross motions him to move out of sight which puts him further from the other. Without a sound he does as instructed his legs barely holding him in relief as soon as he is out of site of the aisle. Glancing around the corner just like Cross is currently doing he spots a skeleton. This skeleton had his blue jacket tied around his waist, long scarf tied around his neck, and a sash of different colored paints draped across his chest. Although he can’t see it from this side the little skele also knows there is an ink splotch on his opposite cheek.

Cross quickly has his phone out texting the others, trying not to let on how worried he felt hoping that it keeps the other calm as well. Nightmare is quickly trying to organize them to regroup but Dust is quick to pipe in that there is no way to stop what he is doing; it is going to go off one way or another. Horror and Killer are attempting to get across town unnoticed to give Cross back up if he needs it but they are further away than they would like. Looking over to the little skele to try to direct him to what they are doing he is surprised to see him gone from his spot. A glance down the aisle almost has him shouting out.

The little skele has a piece of paper in his hand and is slowly, carefully placing each step as he approaches the taller skeleton. He is completely focused, no longer shaking as he watches the intense concentration on the target. As he gets behind the taller skeleton another tiny bead bounces from the side of his skull then skitters across the floor. That tiny bit of noise draws the taller’s attention as he glances towards Cross’s hiding spot and the little skele stays resolutely in his blind spot. Finding nothing of concern the skeleton returns to searching the assorted colors of paint. Having already plastered the back of the paper with double sided tape the little skele gently lays the paper against the other’s back hoping something finds enough purchase to stick, it does. The taller skeleton, arms now full of several bottles of paint turns towards the checkout counters as the little skeleton shuffles to stay out of sight.

“What were you thinking?” Cross hugs the little skele from behind. “That was too dangerous.”

“How else was anyone going to do that?” The little skele is looking way too proud of himself. “That is what we were supposed to do for that bet right? Ink is a Star Sans, isn’t he?”

“They were going to try to do it while fighting, so someone was distracting him. And probably not go for Ink.” Cross is trying not to sound angry, he is wondering if this is how Nightmare felt when they did this stupid stuff, and it isn’t like he didn’t take a ton of pictures and a video. “It’s done now though, I guess. We should get out while we can.”

Cross takes off at a jog as they skirt out the exit while Ink is distracted by a shelf of glitter paint. As soon as they are out of the store Cross takes his phone back out to update everyone on their status, and maybe share a few of the pictures he just took of Ink’s back. The little skele is watching behind him to make sure Ink isn’t following after them. It isn’t until he glances after Cross that the little skele realizes the other is still keeping up a fast pace and he is lagging behind.

“Hey, wait up.” The little skele lurches forward to speed up. “I…”

Someone coming out of one of the stores runs right into the little skele sending him sprawling on the sidewalk as the other trips up and tries not to land on him. Growing suddenly scared of being left behind the little skele glances back to where he last saw Cross, only to see him dart into a doorway once again signaling to him to be calm. His mind goes to work quickly now that he knows Cross hasn’t left him but has deemed it safer to stay out of sight. Then he realizes someone is talking to him and he jerks his attention back to the person who ran into him.

“I am so sorry… um, are you okay?” A skeleton wearing a gold band around his skull knelt in front of him. “Did you get hurt falling?”

The little skele shakes his head unable to take his eyes off the other’s face, he knew this one too if only from a glance from afar, Dream. Dream is looking him over for what the little skele couldn’t contemplate as he tries to slow down his thoughts enough to comprehend himself. Then he remembers similar looks from elsewhere. An idea comes to him as he clenches his hand to realize he is still holding the wooden doll from that craft store, he hadn’t even realized he took it.

“I-I-I sorry… Here.” He shoved the doll into Dream chest scooting back and getting to his feet dropping a few of the snack cakes from his pockets too for good measure. “That’s all I took. Just don’t call the guard.”

The little skele didn’t need to fake his stuttering or fumbling, he is scared, he is caught, and he is in trouble. Slipping off the curb a car horn honks loudly, a sound the little skele is not familiar with, and Dream pulls him back by his wrist causing him to trip on the curb this time. All the little skele can think is: TOUCHING BAD! TROUBLE!

“Sorry, sorry.” The little skele manages to pull away this time moving towards Cross. “Won’t do it again. Please…”

He can’t any more, he is going to be locked in his room, his brother is going to be disappointed in him, the scientists were going to… He is sprinting blindly feet pounding loudly on the sidewalk. He can hear another set doing the same as well as shouting. He is being pursued.

The little skele heads straight for an alleyway, that is where he used to escape in all those other AUs. Surface alleys are different though and there is so much scattered debris to avoid. It isn’t until he is halfway down the alley that a calculation to avoid broken glass back fires on him as he lightly leaps over a trash bag, foot landing on a piece of cardboard he could not have seen. The cardboard slides under foot taking the little skele’s legs out from under him and face first into more cardboard. With enough presence of mind, he curls up to land on his shoulder knocking over a stack of empty boxes. Whimpering in his stunned state someone touches his arm.

“No, don’t touch me!” The little skele throws himself into a sitting position and his arms up to guard his face. “I didn’t do anything.”

“Shh, shh… are you hurt?” Dream attempts to calm the desperate skeleton he assumes was scavenging before he interrupted. “Is this for your Papyrus?”

Dream holds out the wood doll hoping that he can calm this poor Sans, he isn’t sure if he is from this AU or from a destroyed AU. If he could convince him he is here to help, maybe he could send him off with more than he could have hoped for. It always hurt to see the young skeletons struggling to survive whether on the streets or in a lab, it didn’t seem fair. This Sans is probably starving himself trying to keep his little Papyrus fed. He had to at least make sure he didn’t lose what little bounty he had managed to get even if it is ill gotten. First he has to get him to calm down.

“Shh, I won’t hurt you or turn you in.” Dream pushes magic at the little skele. “Just relax. You are okay. Shh.”

The little skele is shaking hard still trying to shake his head knowing he won’t be listened to anyways. It isn’t until he feels his arms loosening and starting to droop that he realizes something is wrong. His fear, his panic, his shame, his anxiety: gone. All of that is suddenly replaced with cheer, calm, happiness. The abrupt change in emotion sends his head spinning and it takes Dream a few attempts to gain his attention.

“Much better, right? I know it is scary now but how you feel right now can be reached if you don’t give up and keep trying to be better.” Dream sets the doll down in the skeleton’s lap along with snacks he had been able to grab from the ground. “Here, it is not much but it can get you at least a few warm meals… Don’t make Papyrus worry about you too much…”

An explosion at least a few blocks away draws Dreams attention from the little skele. Immediately he has a bow in his hands an arrow that looks like it is made of light notched and ready. Realizing that the danger is not upon him Dream kneels back down to address the little skele. The little skele is looking up at him with a soft smile and seeming unconcerned about the danger.

“I need to go help.” Dream informs. “You should find Papyrus and go somewhere safe.”

Feeling too slow the little skele just nods and Dream races off towards the chaos. It takes a lot of effort just to get to his knees accidently nudging a small stack of gold. Then Cross is standing in front of him giving another glance around to make sure the coast is clear. Raising his hand fast yet sluggishly, he grabs the edge of Cross’s jacket in numb fingers.

“Cross… help, don’t like…” The little skele now knowing exactly where Cross is, hugs his legs to hide the smile and tears on his face. “Please… don’t like this.”

“Stars… I’ve got you… Let me call Nightmare.” Cross kneels pulling the little skele up to hug against his chest as he pressed the speed dial for Nightmare. “… Night… Yeah, I’ve got him… No, I don’t know, Dream used his positivity on him and he doesn’t seem to be reacting well to it… Yeah, we should probably get him out of here… Alley… Yeah, I know where that is. I will get us there… I’ll text when we are there.”

Cross pets the little skele’s skull feeling him flinch as he is putting up his phone. The little skele’s grip isn’t strong and he isn’t really answering anything. So Cross just lifts him up feeling him instantly wrap his arms around his ribs under the jacket. With him still being so light Cross easily readjust how he is going to carry him, one arm under his knees and one hand on his back. It does not take long to make his way to the corner Nightmare had instructed him to. Carefully taking his hand from the little skele’s back he pulls his phone back out to text Nightmare he has made it and receives another before a dark portal opens in front of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: stealing, panic, anxiety
> 
> So glimpses at Ink and Dream
> 
> I hate clothes shopping, personally.
> 
> Dust set up an elaborate spoke bomb, meant to look and sound more menacing so people are distracted more to that location than where their true target is. Takes a bit to set up, looks like a Goldblum machine with lots of chemicals.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at bottom
> 
> Day Count: 33
> 
> The gang returns to base

Nightmare glances around the living room looking to make sure all of his boys in here are not in need of him before heading down the hall. He finds Cross sitting in a doorway leaning against the doorframe looking into one of the bathrooms halfway across the hideout away from any noise that could have erupted on the others arriving back home. As he approaches, Cross looks up to him and quietly rises with a quick glance into the bathroom.

The little skele is nested in the large tub with an assortment of pillows and blankets. Even though he has enough room to lay in there with at least two of the other skeletons comfortably he is sitting knees hugged to his chest small enough to be mistaken for one of the pillows. His face is stained with tears he had long since stopped shedding and he stares unseeingly at the faucet.

“He got a bit hysterical when we first got back but only for a few minutes at most. Had to convince him to lash out at the pillows when I came back with more blankets and heard him slam a fist against the side of the tub, he didn’t hurt himself, I checked.” Cross speaks quietly tugging at his sleeve. “He hasn’t spoken since the alley… He’s calmed down now I think.”

“Thank you, Cross.” Nightmare pets the young skeleton’s head reassuringly. “Why don’t you go join the others, you can tell them he is okay but try not to tell them too much before he can tell them himself, alright?”

“It was almost like he was drugged when I got to him in the alley, should I have stepped in?” Cross looks back at the little skele. “He was begging and saying he didn’t like it.”

“Shh, Cross, we need to stay calm for him. You did what was best at the time. It looks like you did really well at making him somewhere safe to recover.” Nightmare wants to take care of Cross’s anxiousness but knew the other boys would do a good job. “Are you good to go to the others?”

“Right. Yeah, I’m okay.” Cross shakes himself trying not to feel guilty for keeping Nightmare from going to take care of the smaller skele and heading down the hall.

“May I come in?” Nightmare taps the doorframe softly with his knuckles just wanting to catch the attention of the little skele. “I won’t if you don’t want me to.”

A shrug is the best Nightmare figures the little skele is willing to give him. So scuffing his feet he makes his way to the side of the tub and sits on the edge. This close Nightmare can see that the little skele has been fretting his hands against his humerus and slowly, keeping his eyes on the little skele’s face, pulls his hands away, no resistance.

“What are you feeling right now?” Nightmare would have asked this of any of his boys but he really can’t feel this skeleton or any residual magic from his brother. “Any emotions you are feeling are okay…”

“Nothing.” The little skele mumbles at the faucet.

“What Dream did is very invasive, I am sorry you experienced that.” Nightmare still has a hold of the little skele’s hands but the other doesn’t seem to even notice. “I can try to help you sort through these things but only if I know what is going on.”

“I feel nothing.” The little skele reiterates and takes a deep breath. “It is numb but better than _that._ ”

“Then it is probably not the best time to try and dig into that.” Nightmare moves to lift the little skele up but pauses. “Is it alright if I pick you up? We can talk later but I think getting you into a good coping habit now will greatly benefit you in the long run.”

“Nightmare…” The little skele still doesn’t look over. “Why is the nothing better than the happy?”

“You are much like the rest of the boys. You knew it wasn’t true, earned happiness that you were feeling at the time. There are probably several reasons that you as an individual didn’t like it, but overall it comes down that you don’t feel you deserve that kind of positivity.” Nightmare looks sympathetically at the little skele hating that any of his boys ever felt that way. “Now, is it alright if I pick you up…? Here we go. Is it alright if we go to the others or are you wanting to be alone?”

Nightmare feels the little skele lay his head down on his shoulder as he shrugs. Right, numb. The other boys are definitely anxious at the moment; he can feel it across the hideout. They are all still waiting in the living room for more information on what is going on. Cross will have let them know he isn’t physically hurt from the confrontation with Dream but they were all aware of how damage to the psyche could affect someone. It still isn’t very clear which way the little skele would go at this point; completely tank into a depressive state or bounce back. Wrapping his tentacles around the little skele so he feels secure (he’s small enough to practically cocoon) Nightmare heads back to the living room, doing his best to monitor the other for any discomfort.

Upon entering the living room, everyone begins to get up but Nightmare holds a hand out to halt them from all rushing over. He places his finger to his teeth so that no one starts bombarding them with questions before they get settled in. Cross tugs Dust’s sleeve and points down the hall. Everyone freezes when a glitching portal opens and Error steps through to look around.

“1 w-w-w4s 1n th3 gr0up m3ss4g3.” Error says simply to explain his appearance here. “Wh0 d1d-d-d Dr34m g3t?”

“Little guy.” Horror points to Nightmare still holding him. “Just came out.”

“Wh4t d-d-d0 y0u n33d?” Error looks to Nightmare, this isn’t the first time one of the gang were put down mentally and it is usually a lot harder to deal with than a physical injury.

“Don’t know yet. He says he is numb, so for now it is just best to keep it calm around him until he comes out of it… One way or another.” Nightmare feels the little skele shivering and reaches for a blanket before remembering that might not work and he is not known for his warmth. “I am guessing Cross dragged Dust off so they can make a nest out here. Did he leave any of the shopping out for him?”

“No, I think it is all still in his inventory.” Killer watches Nightmare stop himself from grabbing a blanket. “Is he cold? We could…”

“I can take him so ya can start dinner.” Horror cuts in slowly standing to give Nightmare a chance to stop him. “If it’s alright with him. Is he asleep?”

Nightmare unwraps his tentacles to check on the little skele who blinks at the lights the tentacles had been shielding him from. He’s not even sure he had been listening to anything they were talking about or if he simply had no opinion on the matter. So Horror comes over and reaches out for the little skele. The little skele reacts by looking him up and down.

“No one got hurt?” He asks.

“Nope, just caused a bit of chaos and got out.” Horror places his hand on the little skele’s skull not expecting him to lean into the touch. “Can I take ya from Nightmare?”

“…” The little skele looks unsure but before anyone can assure him. “Can… can we cuddle?”

Error turns from the interaction hand over his mouth knowing Nightmare is not going to be able to handle that adorableness and currently has no escape. Nightmare tenses up trying not to react. This only works to gain the little skele’s attention as he glances back to see what is wrong. Concerned the little skele tries to push back a bit to see Nightmare’s face but Nightmare is currently only balancing the little skele by the femurs, his tentacles had been stabilizing him. This results in that balance being lost and both fumbling to keep the little skele from falling. The little skele slams himself back into Nightmare’s shoulder as Nightmare regains his own balance and quickly wraps his other arm around the small shoulders that are now shaking worse than before.

“Don’t go squirming around without warning.” Nightmare chastises and feels the small form he’s holding tense under his hold. “… I mean…”

“Give him here before ya drop him.” Horror pulls the little skele from Nightmare’s grip able to sit him in one arm close to his chest but the little skele is still looking to Nightmare. “We can definitely cuddle.”

“Cuddle?” Cross walks in arms loaded with bedding trying to keep his voice down. “Guess we got back just in time.”

“Hold on I will move the couch.” Nightmare turns to hide his blush. “Error mind…”

“G0t 1t.” Error chuckles moving things so Nightmare has a second to recompose himself and whispers to Horror. “D03s h3 kn0w 4b-b-b0ut 1nk?”

“Uhh, how do ya…?” Horror sweats a bit as Error shows him a picture of Ink with arms full of paints and a piece of paper taped to his back. “Anyone could of done that.”

“Wh4t d1d y0u w1n-n-n fr0m th3 b3t k1d?” Error looks to the little skele, hand gripping the front of Horror’s shirt, looking like he is about to fall asleep but not tired. “4n9th1ng g00d-d-d?”

“Hmm… cake.” The little skele looks at the picture on Error’s phone. “I’ve never had cake.”

“What!? We… have we had cake recently?” Horror looks to Killer who is hushing him. “Maybe it has been just ice-cream and cookies.”

“Why would Cross post this?” Killer squeezes in to look at Error’s phone putting his hand over Horror’s mouth. “I know we are a private group but Nightmare is going to kill us if he sees this right now.”

“1 w0n-n-n’t sh4r3, 1f…” Error pockets his phone. “1 g3t 4 sl1c3 0f c4k3.”

“Everyone gets a slice.” The little skele looks at Error like he didn’t understand. “I just get the most.”

“Uh, Error.” Killer waves his hand in front of Error’s face careful not to touch him. “Holy shit, he crashed… Welcome back, that was quick.”

“B31ng th4t 4d0r4bl3 sh0uld b3 4g41nst th3 rul3s.” Error pats the little skele’s skull and moves over to tease Nightmare instead.

Dust and Cross have pretty much finished setting up the middle of the living room with all of the pillows and blankets when Nightmare dumps the loveseat Error usually claims upside down before storming into the kitchen. Error is still slightly chuckling to himself as he uses his strings to turn the couch back over and take up the entire seat pulling out a new knitting project. Horror finds a good spot in the middle to settle down in so everyone can place themselves close to the little skele.

“I’m removing yer shoes so no one gets kicked, kid.” Horror tugs the shoes off tossing them off to the side as the little skele continues to just tuck into him. “Alright, nap time.”

Horror flops back hanging onto the little skele loosely so he slightly bounces when he lands on his back and upon realizing that Horror had him, he tucks himself into Horror’s unzipped jacket. When he is comfortable he is still laying on Horror’s ribs with only his face and one arm visible. There are several photos snapped as Horror can just watch and make sure the little skele doesn’t fall off him. Dust takes the other’s moment of distraction to claim the other half of Horror’s ribs as his spot curling around the little skele hearing slight protest from the other two. Cross huffs and lays so he is practically sitting up against Horror’s side but has his head laying against Dusts back. Killer shrugs and slouches back against Horror’s other side, feeling his head lay on the little skele’s back. The little skele is dozing off when a sound catches his attention and he peeks up at Horror, who cracks a socket to see why he has moved.

“What?” He grins. “Never heard a skeleton purr.”

“No, Papyrus never purred and I haven’t since my dad died.” The little skele feels Dust curl up closer to him. “I thought only baby bones purred… and I never made Papyrus content enough…”

“Must just be rusty.” Killer assures skipping over the brother issue. “Maybe it will come back to you.”

“Shouldn’t we stay up.” The little skele yawns and nuzzles into Horror’s shirt. “Nightmare is making dinner.”

“We have time for a nap.” Dust pets down the little skele’s shoulders. “He will wake us.”

“Thank you.” The little skele didn’t feel the last few tears fall as he closed his eyes. “…feels safe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Recovering from panic/anxiety attack


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at end
> 
> Day Count: 33
> 
> Skeletons don't bounce
> 
> What kind of cake do you guys like? Meant to ask last chapter.

“One, two, we’re here for you. Three, four, we’re from the core. Five, six, where the needle sticks. Seven, eight, we’ll lay you straight. Nine, ten, don’t worry… we’ll come again.” Nightmare steps into the living room looking to the skeleton pile in the middle of the room but not finding the source of the demented nursery rhyme. “One, two, what to do. Three, four, can’t lock the door. Five, six, like a sack of bricks. Seven, eight, tests can’t wait. Nine, ten, pay for your sin.”

“Hey!” Nightmare knows he is probably waking the whole room but the little skele is sitting boneless in the far corner of the room with a rictus grin and black eyes murmuring something that is making his nonexistent skin crawl. “You’re okay, hey, light your eyes, you are here at the hide out. It’s Nightmare, the rest of the gang is here, so is Error.”

“One, two, what a view. Three, four, now a bore. Five, six, how it ticks. Seven, Eight, that’s its fate. Nine, ten, back together again.” The little skele doesn’t respond to Nightmare, Soul in his hand, squeezing. “One, two…”

“ENOUGH!” Nightmare calls out over the next verse which causes the little skele to flinch this time and go quiet. “You need to let go of your Soul.”

“Don’t wanna.” The little skele answers robotically. “Hurts less.”

“It will go away but not if you are dust.” Nightmare growls carefully leaning forward to press their brows together and place a hand to the side of his face, he needs to keep his attention. “I promise this is temporary but you are killing yourself. Let go of your Soul. Don’t make me order you to do it or I will force you.”

Whimpering the little skele tries to loosen his grip but it hurts enough that his body arches against it. He breathes rapidly keeping from crying out, _no one wants to hear it_. The next attempt pulls another whimper and a full body spasm causing him to kick out at Nightmare. It is making him feel sick, _he couldn’t they would be mad_.

“You’re fine, you are doing good.” Nightmare whispers reassuringly holding him just enough to keep him from hurting himself. “Just a bit more and we can return it to where it belongs.”

“Being baby bones, needles hurt worse.” The little skele chuckles humorlessly. “Soul or pelvis. Need samples to do the tests~.”

“Shh.” Nightmare brings the hand still holding the Soul to the little skele’s chest hoping the grip is loose enough to release it, and the little skele falls into a hiccupping laugh. “There, back where it goes. Now talk to me.”

“Thirty-six successful samples from my Soul. Every other month since I turned twelve unless I messed up the sample, several times… Kept promising the last time, the last sample, just once more… Promised you would behave…” The little skele is rambling. “Marrow needed every other week… Not all for lab testing. Two hundred and eight times… Too painful to hold still, blanket held from head to foot to keep still. Small tear in the blanket, Papyrus is going to be mad. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Can handle more than this, not as bad as that… Letting everyone down, they took me in…”

“Shh, shh, that is not what I meant.” Nightmare takes a deep breath knowing yet again the whole room heard. “Dust, I need you to go warm him up some soup.”

“On it.” Dust is quick to his feet but still sounds stunned.

“How’d he get away from us without someone waking.” Horror murmurs. “Three of us were touching him.”

“W-w-wh4t’s th1s?” Error pulls two boxes that are sticking out from the little skele’s pocket with his strings. “Bl4d-d-d3s.”

“No! That is for Killer…” The little skele reaches out for the carving tools he forgot he picked up at the craft store and burst into tears. “I was going to see if he would teach me. Or if we could learn together since he hasn’t had the tools for tiny details.”

“Hey, hey, it’s alright. I can teach you.” Killer jumps up reaching out for the tools and Error hands them over. “Wow, these should work really well. Thanks.”

Dust rushes back into the room with a warm bowl of soup in hand being careful not to spill any. A tentacle takes it from his hands and he holds out the spoon for Nightmare to take as well. The little skele still has not re-lit his eye lights and is turning his head jerkily keeping an eye on the room, while alternating between leaning against Nightmare’s chest and keeping him at arm’s length. He is also humming that disturbing parody of a lullaby.

“One two, get a clue. Three four, you’re a chore.” The little skele giggles and then drops all giddiness. “Five six, then it clicks. Seven eight, you’re dead weight. Nine ten, get a dust bin.”

“How many fucking verses does this song have?” Dust cringes knowing the little skele is repeating this not coming up with it. “And people think we’re demented.”

“Come here, let’s get something warm in your magic.” Nightmare sits cross legged pulling the little skele in his lap to sit sideways so he can try and feed him some of the soup. “It will help… You started feeling something right? Were you scared? Is that why you came over here?”

“Dangerous, but you said I’m not… need to be useful, but only been an experiment.” The little skele ate the spoonfuls that Nightmare offers between explaining. “Hold still 5-4-N-5… You agreed to this subject… You said I wouldn’t have to keep doing this 5-4-N-5… I’m sorry, it hurts, Papyrus, please, I’ll try harder. Don’t lock the door… pl…plea…se.”

Nightmare hands the bowl back to Dust as he keeps the little skele from falling over. There had been too much assuming and now the little skele is in a dangerous headspace. He should have explained to everyone what was going on better, so they would not have taken their eye lights off him. It had looked like he was bouncing back, who would think he would rebound hard enough to have this kind of episode. Now that he is this far it could take quite a while to pull him back. The little skele whimpers as Nightmare squeezes him too tightly but quickly loosens up.

“Make somewhere I can set him.” Nightmare stands and walks over to where Horror and Cross still sat. “I am guessing that there are questions.”

“Um, here’s one of the sweaters he seemed to really like when we were shopping.” Cross pulls an emerald green sweater from his inventory. “It’s nice and soft.”

“He doesn’t have ta ever know we destroyed his AU.” Horror is tugging at the hole in his skull. “Just make it disappear.”

“Horror, calm down, he doesn’t want that.” Nightmare holds Horror’s hand away from his skull and Cross leans over to gently hug him. “Trust me, the second he gives the word…”

Nightmare lets that hang in the air and Horror seems to come down from his anger. Once free, Horror starts petting Cross, comforting them both. Killer and Dust silently dart in different directions as Nightmare sets the limp form in a pile of pillows and sets the sweater next to him. Error is sitting there watching as if he might have crashed.

“Error, can you pull his Soul back out so we can see how much damage it took?” Nightmare avoided touching the others Souls directly not wanting to risk corruption. “The soup probably helped a bit but he didn’t eat very much of it before the drugs kicked in.”

“M9 str1ngs c4n-n-n’t h0ld his-s-s S0ul.” Error reminds but comes over anyways. “H4v3n’t t-t-tr13d th1s 1n 4 w-w-wh1l3.”

Carefully both out of practice and knowing there could be damage Error coaxed the Soul out from behind the little skele’s ribs. It causes a bit of a shudder from the limp form but with the Soul already bruising no one could really blame the little skele for his discomfort. The little upside down heart is clear like his magic, no signs of the normal monster white or grey and no signs of Soul color like humans either. The bruising just looked like frosted glass in the shape of a skeletal hand around the Soul. No cracks, no scarring from needles, nothing to indicate the trauma the little skeleton hid.

“We should check his arms, to make sure he didn’t accidently hurt himself while he was in his episode.” Killer takes a seat above the little skele’s head so he does not block anyone’s view. “He might not have even realized he was doing it.”

Nightmare looks away from the Soul to the arms and is relieved to see no marrow, though it would be hard to see the magic if it was leaking, but it does look like there are some divots where several layers were recently rubbed off. Opening the first aid kit in Killer’s lap, he pulls out healing gel and bandages when Dust comes over with a bowl and towel. Dust sits between Killer and Error staring at the Soul still hovering over the little skele’s chest.

“Dust?” Nightmare looks at him curiously. “What is that?”

“Warm water, to wash his face.” Dust shakes his head to focus back on task. “Is it alright if I…”

“Arms first so I can tend to them.” Nightmare nods and Dust doesn’t question it, simply taking up the unresisting limbs to run the damp cloth over them. “How strong was the dose you put in his soup?”

“It seemed pretty bad, so I used one of the stronger doses to knock him out quick.” Dust explains rinsing the dust from the rag, he is used to dust but this felt wrong. “Also means he will probably be out half a day at least.”

“Go ahead and return his Soul, there is nothing life threatening that needs tending to there.” Nightmare takes up the arm Dust just finished and smears on healing gel. “Have you gotten any further with his files Error?”

“N0, 4nd-d-d 1f 1 3v3r f1gur3 0ut wh0 cr-r-r34t3d 1t 1 4m str1ng1ng th3m up.” Error huffs getting the Soul to gently return to safety. “Th31r s9st3m 3nc0d-d-d3s 1t 4nd 1f y0u d0n-n-n’t us3 th3 p4ssw0rd t0 r3m0v3 1t, 1t l0cks th3 f-f-f1l3s unt1l y0u c4n f0rc3 y0ur w4y 1n. Y3t 1t 1s s3t up t0 b3 s0lv3d-d-d, l1k3 4 t4unt.”

Encryption that even Error is having trouble with is impressive, or would be if they didn’t need that information. It is mostly eventful videos and random test days that received the encryption but it felt like something vital is there to help the little skele, it is infuriating. Nothing Nightmare could do about it so he returns to tending to what he is capable of at this point. Both humerus are wrapped and Dust has his face cleaned of all the tear marks so Nightmare maneuvers the little skele into a sitting position to try and get the sweater on him.

Nightmare quickly realizes how tedious of a task this is going to be. He has helped his boys in half unconscious states slip into new clothes when injured and such but a completely limp skeleton unable to even stiffen his arm to easily be pulled through a sleeve is a new one. Surprisingly it is Error who comes to his aid. Taking the sweater he rolls it up to easily slip over the little skele’s skull and sends his strings up the sleeves to pull his arms through.

“Wh4t-t-t? 1 w4tch 4 l0t 0f 4Us.” Error side sockets Nightmare, as he is stared at with confusion while straightening out the sweater. “1sn-n-n’t th1s 4 b1t b-b-b1g?”

“He liked that he could keep his hands tucked in the sleeves.” Cross grins for a moment thinking about how he found the sweater earlier but it slips from his teeth. “Do you think they took stuff from him for the simple fact he liked it?”

“Wouldn’t put it past them.” Dust stands to get rid of the bowl and towel to distract himself from his own anger. “Hey Error could…”

A small one way portal opens for Dust to toss the water through, into some lab with delicate looking machinery and he thinks he hears Alphys shrieking at the sudden deluge. So what if it is petty, they weren’t taking care of the mess they created. Dust leaves to put away the bowl and towel already coming up with more petty pranks Nightmare might let them pull on the AU. Nightmare just rolls his eye light and lays the little skele back down into the pillows. The little skele lets out a chuff of discontentment but doesn’t wake or move from where he is laid.

“Hold on.” Killer sets the first aid kit aside slightly laughing as he readjusts the little skele to be curled up on his side. “He usually sleeps like this, I think.”

Seeming to be a bit more content the little skele nuzzles his face into a pillow and pulls a pillow to his chest to curl around. Reaching for a blanket Killer stops to rethink how he is going to cover the little skele’s bare legs, his short were past his knees but still couldn’t be very warm. So he starts stacking pillows.

“Horror, do you still have those soothing sounds downloaded on your phone.” Killer looks over where Horror has almost put Cross back to sleep. “Anything has got to be better than whatever you want to call that earlier.”

“Guess I should work on his phone again. I haven’t really had any real priority to get it done.” Nightmare watches Horror flip through his phone. “I will have to make sure to put that program on there too.”

“Sleep tight, kiddo.” Killer pets the little skele’s head. “We’ll be here when you wake.”

CHECK

Subject 5-4-N-5

HP 09/15

LV 1

EXP 0

ATK 0

DEF -

Hurts, hurts, hurts

Dangerous experiment

Should I exist

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Little skele has breakdown, drugging, implications of wanting to commit violent acts, self-harm
> 
> Ruining nursery rhymes, I am not the first
> 
> Sorry about the subpar responses to the last chapter, rough weekend. I am good, love all the interactions, thank you for all the comments, kudos, and such.


	29. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our little skele isn't better quite yet but the gang knows what to do to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at bottom
> 
> Day Count: 34

The little skele came back to the world so slowly. It feels like his head is filled with cotton as he attempts to pull the world into focus. Warmth surrounds him and he doesn’t want to abandon it. So many pillows are piled up on him or maybe he had burrowed under them, he’s not sure but it is cozy in here. If it wasn’t for that stupid rhyme replaying in his head he would be content to fall back asleep but as it is he paws at the pillow he has buried his head under. Cool air floods his system as he still hasn’t decided if he wants to move any further.

Now that he can look around he sees that the rest of the gang is scattered around him pretty much boxing him in, not that he couldn’t carefully maneuver around them to get out. Error is still on his claimed love seat knitting and Nightmare is lounging on the couch close by playing with a phone. He seems oddly focused on it until he suddenly stiffens and glances around the room. Upon making eye contact with the little skele he freezes just staring for a bit.

“You are up.” Nightmare keeps his voice low and the sound of Error knitting stops. “Still feel out of it?”

The little skele only blinks up at him not processing, but none the less answering the question. Nightmare isn’t really that surprised, even he had trouble waking up fully after being slipped that particular mixture. Though the fact that the little skele has only been under about five hours does have him a bit perplexed. Getting up, Nightmare is startled to see the little skele jump hard enough to toss several pillows off himself and look into the nest as if something is hidden in there with him. Only for him to bring his arm up flailing.

“That’s just me.” Nightmare quickly tries to calm the little skele having forgotten that he had a tentacle wrapped around the other’s wrist. “Had to make sure you didn’t sneak off.”

Settling down now laying over on his back the little skele looks hard at the tentacle wrapped around his wrist and after a moment follows it up to where it connects to Nightmare. Then as if to say he is down with this whole situation he rolls back over snuggling up with the tentacle. Nightmare drags his hand down his face not sure he could deal with a drugged up ball of… nope, not going there.

“Are you thirsty?” Nightmare quickly distracts trying to pull his tentacle out of the little skele’s grip but he just ends up pulling the light weight skeleton out of the pillow pile earning himself another disgruntled chuff. “You are going to fall… You were supposed to let go. Not now.”

Nightmare quickly catches the little skele as he lets go at eye level. The little skele seems nonplussed by any of it but is looking at Nightmare when he speaks. When Nightmare just stares back at him he looks down to his hands making sure they are still tucked into the soft fabric of his sweater. Grumbling Nightmare heads for the kitchen.

“Do you drink chocolate milk?” Nightmare asks as he reaches the fridge intending to get the same drink he usually got for the rest of the boys and luckily gets a nod. “Are you repressing your magic or still half asleep?”

“Mhmm.” The little skele nods and Nightmare sits him on the counter keeping a tentacle close to keep him from falling over as he pours a glass of chocolate milk. “Thanks.”

“There’s the voice.” Nightmare slightly grins and goes to hand over the cup but stops. “Now where are your hands?”

“Hands?” The little skele looks down to his sleeves and tears well up in his eyes. “They took them.”

“No, no they didn’t.” Nightmare hurries to roll up the sweater sleeves. “See they are right there… You are never to be given a dose that strong again.”

The little skele looks at his hands flexing them like he’s testing to make sure they are really his before wiping the tears at the corners of his sockets. Once under control he looks back to Nightmare expectantly but sits quietly barely swinging his feet. After catching a few quick glances down to the glass Nightmare figures out what is going on.

“Here, it’s yours.” Nightmare hands over the chocolate milk. “Even like this you have more manners than any of the others combined.”

“Thanks… Hi, Error.” The little skele shows him the glass of chocolate milk. “Nightmare got me chocolate milk.”

“D1d h3?” Error is shaking from repressed laughter, he’s not sure he has ever seen Nightmare blush this hard. “Th4t-t-t’s n1c3 0f h1m… 4r3 Y0u 0k4y?”

“Song stuck in my head.” The little skele shakes his head hard as if he can shake the song off like an annoying bug. “Don’t like it.”

“Here, I wanted to explain some of the features first but that can wait until you feel better.” Nightmare pulls out the phone he has been tinkering with for hours. “This right here is a bunch of calming sounds and we can get some music for you later… See if there is a sound you like.”

The little skele sets the phone on the counter next to him and switches between sounds as he sips from his glass. It became obvious pretty quickly that he is fighting sleep, slightly drifting to the side far enough Nightmare thought he might have to catch him before jerking back up, forcing his eyes back open after every blink, and struggling to operate the phone or lift the glass to his teeth. Glass finally empty Nightmare takes it and places it in the sink to worry about later. The drug may have worn off for the most part but the little skele is still very much exhausted.

“Come on, it’s around one in the morning.” Nightmare lifts the little skele from the counter. “It is time to try to go back to sleep.”

\----------

“Is he still in there?” Horror asks looking around the room. “How did he bury himself like that?”

After lifting several pillows in search of the little skele, Cross lifts the one from over his face. The light wakes the little skeleton with a start resulting in some sort of chirp noise as he tries to rebury his face in the remaining pillows. Sense coming back to him, he peeks out from under the pillows he’s managed to get back under.

“Morning.” Dust gives a little wave from where he is still lying on his stomach. “How you feeling?”

“Soul hurts… my fault though…” The little skele replies voice still heavy with sleep. “Tired but not sleepy… feel… heavy.”

“Know that feeling.” Dust sighs. “Want to just lie around here?”

“Is that alright?” The little skele peeks out a bit more at the rest of the skeletons; Nightmare and Error aren’t in the living room. “Don’t want to be in the way.”

“Nah, we never do anything really, after a day out like that.” Killer assures squatting down hands on his knees. “Especially if something unexpected happens. No worries, that’s the crazy creator and his goody two shoe friend’s fault.”

“We can talk if you need to or just turn on a movie so it isn’t too quiet and lay about.” Cross plops down on some of the extra pillows. “You slept through dinner last night but we’ll make sure you don’t miss any more meals.”

“Don’t huff at us. Ya need to eat to feel better.” Horror recalls a few of his own episodes. “We know how ya feel and we’re here for ya.”

“Now you’ve done it. You know how emotional we can get.” Dust snickers watching the little skele tucking back down into his pillow mound. “No worries kid, we know your emotions are a little bit on the fritz. Cross, why don’t you get that movie going?”

“Okay.” Cross leaps up to search the movie shelves. “Also, I think what he’s doing is a chuff not a huff.”

“What’s the difference?” Horror asks scooting closer to the mound of pillows.

“I think a huff is just a broader term for expelling air.” Cross pulls a movie from the shelf and puts it in the player. “A chuff is more of a directed single noise of complaint, I think.”

The conversation devolves into a discussion of different terminology and examples of sighing. At least long enough for the little skele to collect himself and twist around a bit to see the tv. Using the soft sleeves of his sweater, he wipes away the evidence of the few tears that slipped down his face. No one pushes him into talking as they watch some superhero movie and he can’t help but grin widely as one of the lines brings to mind the shenanigans he pulled with Cross and Fresh. By the end of the movie he has pushed the pillows off his head.

“Here, try to eat a piece or two.” Killer places a plate of buttered toast close to the little skele. “Eat at least one and we won’t pester you about it anymore until lunch.”

“Not hungry.” The little skele whines turning his head from the plate. “Eat later.”

“Just a few bites.” Killer continues to bargain. “Try.”

It is a process for the little skele to just get into a sitting position. Pulling his arms up close to his head, lifting his upper body enough to get his knees under him. It is exhausting then pushing himself up more to sit on his knees to look over at the plate of toast. Taking the plate into his lap he unfolds his legs from beneath him to sit more comfortably. With a sigh, he nibbles on the first piece of toast, stopping only long enough to notice he can’t taste it. Dropping the toast, he clicks his tongue confirming it is summoned.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. It is temporary. Come here.” Killer pulls the little skele into his lap as he whimpers. “You are depressed. We figured you probably were; everyone can express it differently. We are just going to take it one step at a time till you feel better. We’re here, it gets better.”

“Talk to us.” Horror pets the little skele like he had to soothe Cross. “It could help ground ya.”

“Feels like the days after they would take a Soul sample. Dream just made my Soul heavy instead of empty.” The little skele holds tight to Killer’s jacket. “Papyrus is always disappointed in me, but it scares me, it hurts… I can’t…”

“You were left alone after…” Cross thinks about the little skele’s episode last night and no one to help him pull himself back together, not even enough color to focus on anything good, everything locked up because he wasn’t able to _behave_ while they stabbed his Soul. “We won’t leave you alone to deal with this by yourself. Even if you need space we won’t be far.”

“He’s a royal guard now, so he doesn’t need me to be an experiment anymore right?” The little skele is shedding tears but speaking clearly. “I was the worst thing anyone had to deal with, so it will be safe for him. He won’t have to manage me anymore if I don’t go back.”

“Stop… Shh, you don’t have to go back. That’s a choice all of us have always had and so do you.” Killer rocks the little skele. “We can sneak there just enough to keep it going or never see it again. Whatever you want to do.”

The little skele doesn’t know what he wants to do, doesn’t know much of anything at the moment. Except that it is comfy in Killer’s lap being pet by Horror, so he doesn’t move to get away from either. They seem to notice and continue their ministrations. Cross puts on a new movie and Dust moves to lay closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: panic, anxiety, depression
> 
> Little skele may be susceptible to strong altering substances. And Nightmare might be susceptible to his boys' acts of adorableness.


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at bottom
> 
> Day Count: 38
> 
> Monkey see, Monkey do?

It takes several days to get the little skele out of the constant state of sullenness and lethargy. He had been very apologetically clingy to anyone who would let him, even as they all assured him it was all right. Even Nightmare had kept him close a couple of the nights he had, had to stay up doing paperwork by holding his wrist with a tentacle so as he fell asleep he knew someone was there, though he would deny it if asked. Now he is not completely back to himself but he is up to actually doing something, wanting to move.

“I don’t think it would be a good idea to do a full out spar just yet but we can work on tightening up your technique.” Cross thinks getting up from the couch where he had been drawing in a sketchbook. “Will that work? You will get to move around without straining yourself.”

“Please… I feel tense and pent up.” The little skele is now in a better habit of verbalizing his feelings to the others. “I can wait if you aren’t done with your drawing.”

“I’ve been at it for over an hour, I’m good.” Cross assures setting the sketchbook down and leading the way to the training room. “I could use a bit of exercise.”

Feeling a little less like he is bothering the other he follows behind looking forward to the freedom of moving. Even following Cross’s quick pace is starting to make him feel better. As they walk into the training room, he pulls his dark gray sweater over his head so he is wearing only basketball shorts and sleeveless tee, he still isn’t used to socks and shoes except when leaving the hideout.

“We’ll start with you dodging me.” Cross instructs. “Later once we are warmed up we can work on teaching you to look for openings.”

The little skele nods and breathes easier now in the training room. Cross takes his time getting serious so that he doesn’t overwhelm the recovering little skele who begins to loosen up and start smiling the longer he dodges and blocks everything Cross can throw at him. That is when Cross realizes that he is trying and can’t get an attack through. Backing off, Cross grins impressed and proud of the little skele.

“Alright, aim for my open hands however you can, kick, punch, knees, elbows.” Cross watches the little skele look unsure. “This will teach you where to aim. Then we will work on when to aim for these spots.”

Cross notices the little skele hesitating at first, warming to the task by using moves he had just used against him. Slowly Cross starts occasionally throwing out attacks to keep the others guard up. That’s when he starts seeing the others’ styles starting to bleed into his developing style. So he starts pulling and pushing him around the area to get used to more of a moving target.

“How the hell have we been able to hit him?” Dust stands in the doorway where Horror and Killer are sitting just inside. “Cross isn’t taking it easy on him.”

“Cross has him targeting vulnerable spots, see?” Killer points out. “They have found a pretty good rhythm so it looks pretty impressive but they aren’t trying to fight.”

“He’s still good though.” Horror seems a bit confused. “He’s moving like us.”

“Yeah, I noticed that too.” Killer nods. “We should probably be more careful when he is watching us from now on. He is learning from us and quickly.”

As they are discussing all of this Cross is setting up the little skele. It is something he could only ever pull off with the little skele as he lures the other into throwing a kick at his head. Catching the ankle of the foot that connects with his hand and having brought up his other hand as if he is trying to get him to learn to free himself but again closes his hand as soon as it connects. Sputtering the little skele places a hand on the ground and his other grabbing at the hem of his shirt.

“I think that is enough for today.” Cross chuckles at the predicament he has put the little skele in. “They came to get us for dinner.”

“Wha… oh, hello.” The little skele lets his shirt drop as he waves to the others. “Are you going to let me go?”

“I suppose.” Cross sighs dramatically and releases the little skele only to be surprised that he doesn’t fall away. “What the…”

The others are rolling around laughing at the door as the little skele walks away on his hands from a surprised Cross. Realizing that Cross is a bit stunned, the little skele balances on one hand again to wave at him to come on. Once he gets to the door where the others are coming down from their laughing the little skele drops back to his feet and straightens his shirt. His dark gray sweater is returned to him as Cross joins them as well.

“You two have time to clean up.” Killer pats his pants as he gets up. “We’ll meet you in the dining room.”

“Actual shower.” Horror jokingly glares down at the little skele, who chuckles uneasily. “Seriously, yer allowed showers and baths, stop just sponging off.”

“Right.” The little skele stops himself from apologizing, another thing they wanted him to cut back on. “I will get a shower.”

\----------

“Alright, you want to know the basics of the AUs. There is the main breakdown: Classic, Swap, Fell. There are very few that don’t fall within one of those categories. Classic is the closest to the original timeline. Swap is when the personalities are just that swapped: Papyrus has a Sans’ personality, Sans has Papyrus, Alphys and Undyne, Toriel and Asgore, etc. Fell is usually considered the darker, more violent version of either of the other AUs. Understand so far?” Nightmare pauses in his after dinner instruction and the little skele considers, then nods. “These descriptors can be used together like FellSwap or just have personality extremes. Get out of any universe that seems too good to be; yandere AUs are extremely dangerous to the unaware. We have used terminology like Blue/Berry or Red/Cherry. They are variations in standard Swap and Fell verses. Blue and Red tend to be the more mature versions while Berry and Cherry are childish, crybaby, whatever. We typically don’t go after the original versions of each timeline. We are just trying to keep balance and too much damage to any of those timelines could domino to the rest. At the same time if we do nothing corruption could bleed back into these originals… Remember this is just a basic breakdown. Add themes and it can start to get quite convoluted.”

The little skele is sitting in his arm chair contemplating very hard on the information that he was just presented. Nightmare let him, it seems whatever he has realized is concerning him and he is trying to sort through it so he could ask questions. Then the petulant swinging of feet starts up. If you bothered to look, no, if you allowed him to express, he is easy to read.

When his magic isn’t restrained the little skele’s eye lights were quite expressive. Flaring when excited, not quite sure how to form shapes though it seems, and shrinking to fine points when startled or unsure of a situation. Body always held as if ready to move; to get out of the way, to push him closer to the edge of his seat when something has caught his interest, and of course the petulant kicking when he thinking contrarily to what he has been told in some way. No poker face at all, just a self-contrite bow when he shuts down. Right now though he is looking frustrated with a hand inching up to his humerous.

“Maybe if you ask questions I can clarify.” Nightmare leans his chin into his palm as he continues watching the little skele. “What are you trying to put together?”

“Where does my AU fall?” The little skele admits what he is trying to figure out. “I don’t have the personality of a Sans or Papyrus… There isn’t overt violence… It would be Classic, if you looked at everything but me…”

No, Nightmare wants to tell him how the Papyrus of that verse is… The little skele would never accept any negative words against his brother, they had tried and it had only closed him off for several hours. At the same time at first glance yes it is a Classic timeline but something early on diverged, which they had not yet figured out. The little skele still fit a very early Sans persona before giving up his field of science perhaps. Nightmare suddenly wonders what field of study the little skele might want to delve into. A shake of his head has him back on track.

“Classic, just with an obvious divergence.” Nightmare states simply. “Diverging timelines tend to do… damage to the resident Sans persona.”

“So, I am damaged.” The little skele looks like something has been confirmed and he is just waiting for the other shoe to drop. “Maybe…”

“Do you think that when you look at the others?” Nightmare’s tone is cold but he can’t let the little skele continue down this dangerous spiral. “Do you see them as damaged or any less than any other being out there?”

“No, they…” The little skele shakes his head. “Can I be fixed?”

“…” Nightmare couldn’t say what he wanted (what he had wanted to tell all his boys at some point) but this little skele is broken and in need of assistance to pull back together. “You seem to be under the delusion that the wrong things about you are broken. You are already recovering quite well, don’t relapse.”

“I don’t understand.” The little skele admits. “I haven’t gotten strong enough to fight for you. I am not smart enough to know what knowledge to bring back for you. I…”

“I have not asked any of that of you.” Nightmare is suddenly leaning over the little skele, hands on the armrests, tentacle holding his chin so they are looking eye to eye. “I am the leader and I decide what use you are, do not forget that again.”

\----------

“Can you tell me about your AUs?” The little skele was laying against Killer as Dust lays sprawled over both their laps. “You don’t have to… Nightmare was just talking about AUs and variances and Horror and Cross told me about their AUs. I think they are Classic variants and was just curious but don’t want to know if it hurts like with Cross.”

“Woah, woah. Easy.” Killer gently squeezes the little skele closer to his ribs as Dust uses the remote to turn down the TV. “I don’t really want to go into it but I don’t mind telling you a bit.”

“You wanna go first or do you want me to.” Dust re-squishes the pillow under his head. “I mean my verse still exists so…”

“I don’t mind. Uh, well let’s see, what makes my verse different than a Classic… I don’t think I ever thought about that. We are all just variants of a Classic verse.” Killer stares up at the ceiling. “I guess mine diverged when Chara attached to me instead of Frisk… I was better equipped to make a genocide run _fun._ After so much LV I was more efficient without the kid. Insanity keeps me from completely recalling what I did but Nightmare had to numb me for years before I could pretend to be stable again. I no longer wanted the temptation of the resets constantly enjoying the rush of regaining all the LV my verse had to offer…”

“Alright, my turn I guess…” Dust huffs cutting Killer off from reminiscing too much. “I wanted to gain LV to beat the kid. Thought it was the only way. I keep my AU around only because it helps me anchor my thoughts when I start thinking I can hear the dead speaking to me.”

“Sorry.” The little skele rubs at his humerous. “Guess resets are really bad. I can see why you got upset my AU didn’t have them. Doesn’t seem fair.”

“The multiverse isn’t fair.” Dust elbows Killer who is in a better position to comfort. “We’re over it. LV just sucks sometimes.”

“We only told you because you asked not because we wanted you to feel bad.” Killer jostles the little skele knocking his hand away before he could do damage. “Got us here didn’t it… Now, let’s watch this show. Unless you have any more questions?”

“…” The little skele thinks for a minute. “Have you ever got a Star Sans with a whoopi cushion?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: talk of genocide and killing, mention of potential symptoms of mental illness.
> 
> Dust and Killer are vague because they maintain a precarious balance to maintain their clarity.
> 
> A bit of an info dump for the second half.


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day Count: 40
> 
> I don't think there are any warnings but correct me if I am wrong.
> 
> Ooh new AU

“Hey, kid, Error just found a new verse I think you will like.” Dust chuckles looking in the little skele’s room to find him upside down balanced on one hand. “Looks like it was created pretty recently. So Ink hasn’t been there to talk to the residents and it is still early enough that the resets haven’t started.”

“Is there something we are supposed to do with a new verse?” The little skele tilts his head in confusion, not having heard anything about something like this before. “I don’t really know enough to help with classifying or what not.”

“No, no. This is completely recreational. I overheard Error reporting on this new verse to Nightmare and remember you saying you were in a similar one once and liked watching them dance.” Dust explains. “I already cleared it with both of them and thought you would enjoy going.”

“A DanceTale, right?” The little skele tries to put himself upright and lands on his knees. “It is fun to see all those monsters dance…”

“Error, visits OuterTale all the time. He likes that verse.” Dust notices the little skele still a bit unsure. “If you like just going to watch or something it won’t bother anyone… So, would you like to go?”

The little skele seems a bit torn by some thoughts he doesn’t want to share but then gets up and nods smiling. Dust goes to the little skele’s closet to pick out the clothes he will wear on this excursion. He is planning some things and wants to make sure the little skele is properly dressed. Pulling out a set of black and gray sweat pants and jacket. The cuffs, hood, waistbands, and sleeveless undershirt are gray.

“Here wear this.” Dust tosses the outfit over and moves to leave as the little skele immediately begins changing. “Going to go confirm everything with Error. Meet in the living room.”

Having just started his workout he doesn’t figure he is in need of a shower so he just changes into the clothes that were picked out for him. He starts running out before remembering he needs shoes if they are leaving the hideout. When he runs into the living room ready to go Nightmare has a portal open with Error and Dust waiting for him to leave. Standing next to the two who he will be accompanying to await instruction he is surprised to see Error reach for him. He watches his hands reach for something on his jacket before everything goes dark as the strings for his hood are pulled. A squawk of protest is interrupted as he is pushed into the portal.

“Have fun.” Nightmare calls after him.

As the little skele is trying to loosen the strings of his hood someone lifts him off the ground by his middle and jumps through another portal Error summons. Freeing himself from his hood finally he watches as he is carried through one more portal before he is placed back on his feet by Dust. Error looks at some code before nodding at the other two skeletons.

“4lr1ght, w3 4r-r-r3 1n th3 r1ght 4U.” Error assures looking around. “1 4m g01ng t-t-t0 g0 d0 my th1ng 1n th3 ru1n-n-ns. Y0u guys g0 4h34d 4nd-d-d h34d t0 Sn0wd1n. C4ll 1f 4nyth1ng h4pp3n-n-ns, 1’ll 0nly b3 4 m0m3nt 4w4y.”

“Will do.” Dust takes the shoulder of the little skele to shortcut when he feels the shaking. “You still up for this, kiddo?”

The little skele looks away from the direction he figures Snowdin is in to look back at Dust. Quickly nodding the little skele glances back again before trying to pay more attention to the other skeletons. Dust realizes the little skele is so excited he is practically vibrating. Unable to help himself Dust smiles widely and looks to Error to see if he is as amused as he is. Error is shaking his skull with almost silent glitching chuckles and nods toward the town.

“G0 0n.” Error rubs both of the skulls in front of him roughly. “H4v3 fun-n-n.”

Dust tries to knock away Error’s hand playfully but Error shortcuts away from them. Rolling his eye lights Dust throws his arms over the little skele’s shoulders and then shortcuts them into the tree line so they are looking at the area around the Gyftmas tree. Startlingly the little skele lurches forward as if he is about to race into the crowd gathered there but he stops so he is half hidden behind a tree. Dust finds a seat in the roots of an adjacent tree so he can see the square but is mostly watching the excited skeleton viewing the dancing going on.

“Wah, look, there’s the Sans and Papyrus from this AU.” The little skele quietly whisper shouts to Dust a bit later. “I didn’t get to see the other Sans dance in that other AU… Do you know what their styles are called? I don’t know the different styles.”

“I can’t say I am too knowledgeable on the subject.” Dust looks over at all the dancers, the brothers aren’t currently dancing. “Paps usually specializes in Latin dance, and Sans breakdancing… You can go out if you want.”

“…” The little skele looks shocked at Dust and still with a smile, although sadder now, shakes his head. “I don’t even know how to dance… what if they don’t want me to join them?”

“It is your choice.” Dust shrugs not wanting to push the little skele. “Just know you are allowed.”

The little skele stares at the ground contemplating but shakes his head before looking back up to all the dancing. Excitement returns when someone convinces this AU’s Sans to come forward and show off his moves. It looks like the little skele is trying to move closer to get a better view through the gathered crowd. After a few minutes the Sans is begging off the calls for an encore. Then Dust notices the little skele tapping against his own leg and shifting on his feet.

“So, enjoying the show?” This AU’s Sans shortcuts behind them causing them to jump and Dust grabs his knife within his pocket rising to a crouch. “Never seen you guys before.”

“Are you sure?” Dust grins a bit viciously. “Every time you glance a reflective surface.”

“Huh, so that’s that theory proven… You planning to use that buddy?” The Sans looks to Dust’s pocket. “I would hate to…”

“I’m sorry, I just like seeing the dancing…” The little skele interrupts hoping to keep this fight from starting. “It’s really um, cool… I just want to see your brother and then we can leave, please.”

“Woah, woah kid, easy, I didn’t come to toss you out.” The Sans quickly holds his hands up in a calming gesture noticing the flinch when he goes to touch, and looks to the other skeleton removing empty hands from his pockets. “Easy, just thought you might be too short to see through the crowd… Does it sound like I came over to fight?”

“That is a, your verse thing.” Dust sighs but notices the little skele focusing on the other Sans’ chest and still taping out a rhythm on his leg. “Wait… can you?”

“Mmhmm, his hasn’t changed.” The little skele assures Dust and looks back to him. “What should we…?”

“I told you if you wanted you could go join them, so being seen really isn’t that big of a deal.” Dust sighs retaking his seat to try to put the little skele back at ease. “Go get a…”

“BROTHER!” Papyrus is on his way over and the little skele is quickly hiding behind the tree Dust is sitting against. “WHO ARE YOUR FRIENDS?”

Dust suddenly realizes his miscalculation. The sudden appearance of someone that looks so much like your brother (especially when trauma is involved) is startling. To present a fearful response to one of the soft Papyrus is always going to draw attention. Trying to be discreet about it Dust pats the little skele’s leg reassuringly. The little skele quickly sorts through the differences this Papyrus has from his Papyrus, the lack of armor helped greatly.

“Hey Paps. Just some newbies, I think the shy one is wanting to see you dance.” Sans chuckles knowing exactly what he is doing, throwing a shy monster to his overly excitable brother. “What do you think?”

“HMM, NO, NO…” Papyrus shakes his head missing how the little skele deflates. “COME, NEW FRIENDS SHOULD DANCE TOGETHER TO GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER. WHAT IS YOUR STYLE.”

“Hey you good?” Dust tries to subtly give the little skele a chance at escape and the Sans a chance to call off his brother. “He’s not him, and you are safe.”

“I haven’t ever danced.” The little skele pulls his hood up a bit ashamed now. “Might not be any good.”

“NONSENSE, SOMEONE AS GREAT AS I CAN GUIDE A BEGINNER THROUGH EVEN THE MOST COMPLICATED OF DANCES. NOT THAT I WOULD ASK THAT OF YOU NOW.” Papyrus held his hand out in invitation. “IF IT IS THE CROWD WE DO NOT HAVE TO DANCE IN FRONT OF THEM.”

“Um, well…” The little skele slowly reaches out looking to the Sans, who nods approvingly at the look of searching approval, before taking the hand and the world doesn’t erupt into disproval. “If it’s really okay… I’ll try.”

“FANTASTIC! COME, THIS WAY. THERE IS A CLEARING I USE FOR PRACTICE JUST ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THESE TREES.” Papyrus gently pulls the little skele out of site of the crowd but still in view of the other two Sanses. “DO NOT WORRY ABOUT YOUR SMALL STATURE MY BROTHER IS RATHER SHORT AS WELL SO I AM QUITE USED TO IT.”

“Paps!” Sans squeaks a bit indignantly. “Not that short.”

“I ONLY SPEAK THE TRUTH BROTHER. I SAY IT WITH THE UTMOST AFFECTION.” Papyrus waves him off turning to the little skele. “ALRIGHT, HOW ABOUT WE BEGIN WITH A MIRROR EXERCISE TO WARM UP.”

With a deep breath the little skele nods his head watching Papyrus with extreme focus. He doesn’t want to disappoint Papyrus, that is very important, the taller is taking his valuable time to teach him. The little skele doesn’t have to learn from afar or just by sight. It is more than he expected and he can’t hide his excitement.

“Thanks, you probably don’t realize how much your permission means to him but…” Dust watches the little skele already syncing up with Papyrus’s movements. “He would have made excuses if you had shown any signs of not wanting him to accept the offer.”

“Not sure my brother would have let him, kind of persistent.” Sans shrugs looking at both of the excited skeletons who despite the size difference were mirroring each other so well he couldn’t tell who is leading. “Dancing is a good release. He seems a bit tense, so…”

“Tsch, yeah, yeah… He is abused, thinks people don’t want to touch him.” Dust tries to say it like it is nothing but Sans looks back at the little skele like he had a new piece to the puzzle. “He has some serious issues but, he likes to move… to feel free.”

Dust had realized the last bit suddenly and Sans seems to take notice of the fact. Sans gives Dust a moment to watch the little skele move as if no one could see him in time with Papyrus who is completely fine with all the attention. Although neither Dust nor the little skele have music playing from their Souls, Sans and Papyrus could hear pain in both of their Souls. It is obvious to Sans that Dust had brought the little skele here in hopes of helping the other but expecting nothing for himself.

“What’s he to you?” Sans looks away from Dust. “Obviously not from the same timelines. So why’s it your responsibility.”

“Multiverse is stupid. Some of us get abandoned, some of us need rescuing, some need to run away… some of us go insane. Any way you arrive you need somewhere to go, someone to be there.” Dust contemplates. “Some of the multiverse thinks we are fine where we are, we will figure it out, our AU needs us too much, that we are exaggerating our pain when so many others are going through similar pain… You know my brother helped me through a lot, couldn’t have lasted half as long without him, his brother tells him his touch is dangerous and calls him 5-4-N-5 so often he doesn’t recognize his own name… So when a kid is willing to do anything for a place to stay and still leaves when you beat the shit out of him telling him how much of a danger he is… This is the least I can do. I don’t know what he is to me yet.”

“…Wow…” Sans loses a bit of his grin but quickly pulls it back up as the little skele glances to him when Papyrus holds a hand out to actually attempt a dance, he nods. “Say what you really feel… So neither of you plan to hurt anyone in this timeline?”

“Neither?” Dust grins mischievously. “What makes you think the multiverse has cast aside only two of us?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for any mistakes, I am in the middle of a sixteen hour shift and just barely have my second wind. Might not be able to respond to comments until tomorrow, unless you some how catch me before 0700.
> 
> Is this Papyrus sassy enough?


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at bottom
> 
> Day Count: 40
> 
> Papyrus is a good teacher, and the little skele is a good student.
> 
> And Sans are mischievous.

Papyrus’s dancing is beautiful even while he is dancing in a way that allowed him to move the little skele with him around the clearing. The little skele doesn’t know it but he is moving in a way that makes it easy for Papyrus to dance with him. It takes a while but Papyrus realizes why; it is like dancing with his brother in the early years. As the little skele giggles at being spun expertly, Papyrus thought of when Sans had been teaching him.

“YOU ARE DOING VERY WELL.” Papyrus hears it more from the little skele’s Soul than sees it in him, but he glowed under the praise. “ARE YOU SURE YOU HAVE NEVER DANCED BEFORE? WITH A BIT OF PRACTICE YOU MAY COME CLOSE TO MY SKILL.”

“Never, you must just be a really good teacher.” The little skele continues to be led by Papyrus’s movement listening to the music he created from his Soul. “Plus it’s really fun.”

“SANS!” The sudden outburst ends the dance practice as Papyrus places his fists to his hips. “DO NOT MAKE YOUR SCARY FACE AT OUR GUESTS.”

“Oops, sorry bro.” Sans blinks and then looks over. “Sorry little guy, didn’t mean to scare you.”

“HMM, OH, ARE YOU ALRIGHT? YOU HAVE DISMISSED YOUR EYE LIGHTS.” Papyrus reaches out to touch the little skele’s shoulder only for him to flinch and then he notices the panicked rhythm coming from his Soul. “I DO NOT THINK HE IS ALRIGHT.”

“Fine.” The little skele suddenly but softly informs.

“Hey, kid.” Dust comes over to squat down and look socket to socket with him. “Need anything?”

“Just startled, I’m fine.” The little skele is still speaking softly. “Thought it was me but he wouldn’t call me…”

“HERE, I HAVE SOME WATER IN MY INVENTORY.” Papyrus pulls out a plastic water bottle. “WE WERE DANCING QUITE A BIT, A BREAK IS IN ORDER.”

“I thought breakdancing was my thing.” Sans laughs as his brother groans in frustration. “Come on Paps, it’s just my style.”

“JUST FOR THAT I AM ADDING ANOTHER THIRTY MINUTES TO OUR TRAINING TOMORROW.” Papyrus holds out the water bottle. “HERE, FOR YOU. JUST IGNORE MY BROTHER.”

“Water, you gonna do about him.” The little skele shrugs getting an utterly betrayed look from Papyrus. “Um, s-sor…”

“Nope! No take back.” Dust quickly twists the little skele around and covers his mouth as he hugs him close to his chest as he bursts out laughing. “That was good.”

Grumbling about the manhandling the little skele holds onto Dust’s arm feeling the deep laughing as he is jostled around. Sans is holding his stomach laughing, probably more from the reactions to the pun rather than the pun itself but the little skele takes a bit of pride in the chaos he caused. Upon closer examination of Papyrus as he stands up straight shaking his head, he is repressing a grin at the shenanigans.

“COME BACK OVER HERE BEFORE THEY CORRUPT YOU FURTHER.” Papyrus waves the little skele back over and Dust releases him when he glances back for permission. “WE HAVE TIME FOR ME TO TEACH YOU ANOTHER DANCE.”

This time when the little skele hesitates to look back at Sans, Papyrus reaches out and takes his hand to pull him back over to dance. Although a little startled at first the little skele follows Papyrus’s lead, but is staring at him like he is trying to figure something out. When Papyrus releases him and does some kind of move with his hips the little skele jolts surprised by the move then attempts not to laugh. Realizing that he is getting an expectant look the little skele realizes he is supposed to be copying that move.

“I forget people don’t always like our sense of humor. Didn’t mean to upset your brother.” Dust sneakily records the little skele on mute as he spoke to Sans and sits back down. “…I suppose if it makes you less jumpy there are no plans to mess with your universe.”

“Yeah, so much.” Sans rolls his eyes and responds sarcastically but then returns his sights to the little skele. “He was scared by Papyrus… not me. Was it because of the tone?”

“Probably.” Dust shrugs putting up his phone. “I only told you what I did so you wouldn’t trigger a panic attack or misinterpret his actions. He has very little concept of privacy, so he has yet to mind. Plus, he kind of has a habit to tell a lot when recovering. He still has trouble determining when he is having a panic attack.”

“Poor kid… Not sure what I would do if I didn’t have my brother by my side.” Sans is quiet thinking for a bit. “If he doesn’t recognize his own…”

“Dust!” The little skele rushes over almost falling into Dust’s lap but grabs said skeleton’s arm and points. “We have company.”

Looking back to the Gyftmas Tree Dust watches as Dream steps out of a portal right behind Ink. So as not to tip off the brothers any more than they already have been Dust stands patting his pants. With a nod he assures the little skele he saw them and looks to the skeletons of this verse. Dust secures his grip on the little skele before addressing them.

“Didn’t realize how long we’ve been here.” Dust tries not to glance over to the danger so close by. “We need to head out.”

“WE HAVE NOT FINISHED OUR LESSON…BUT IF YOU MUST…” Papyrus sighs dramatically. “I MUST INSIST YOU RETURN AT SOME POINT TO FINISH THIS LESSON.”

The little skele looks up at Dust. “Yeah, I suppose we can try to come back.”

“GOOD, PRACTICE WHILE YOU ARE AWAY.” Papyrus instructs patting the little skele’s head. “I WILL EXPECT YOU TO STILL REMEMBER THE DANCE I TAUGHT YOU TODAY.”

“Yes, thank you!” The little skele is vibrating again and slightly bouncing but is speaking quietly as if afraid someone would hear him outside their group then looks to the Sans. “Thank you too. Your dancing is really amazing.”

“Well…” The Sans coughs as he scratches his cheek embarrassed and then holds his hand out. “Maybe I can teach you a few things the next time you come to visit as well.”

“Rea…?” The little skele excitedly clutches the Sans’ hand only for an obnoxious ‘Fffttthhhhppttttt’ sound to interrupt him.

“…” Papyrus rubs his hand down his face. “I AM SO SORRY FOR MY BROTHER’S INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR.”

The little skele had attempted to keep his laughing silent (learning that had taken awhile) but feeling Dust trying to do the same through Papyrus’s apology is too much, he laughs out loud. Sans’ eye lights brightened when his little prank is appreciated in such a way, so many people were over his little prank by this point. Looking to his brother with a bit of an apologetic smile he realizes that Papyrus is watching the little skele with a bit of relief, he forgets how observant his brother could be sometimes.

“I, I would like to come back.” The little skele calms his laughing and takes his hand back. “Thank you.”

“Don’t… Don’t tell anyone we were here.” Dust speaks quietly to the Sans. “If you don’t mind.”

Sans glances to the clearing in front of the Gyftmas Tree for only a brief moment. He wouldn’t promise but he nodded for now. As long as they proved no threat to his brother he couldn’t really care too much about it. Plus, his brother is really happy teaching the little skele, they danced together and nothing seemed off, so why not.

Dust pulls the little skele through a shortcut and lands behind Error. Error is standing with a tear open reading through the code of the AU. Feeling the presence Error looks over his shoulder strings at the ready but looks concerned when he realizes it is Dust and the little skele. Closing the tear, he gives them his full attention.

“Ink and Dream showed up.” Dust informs simply. “We left before we were seen.”

“L3t’s g0.” Error opens a portal to let the others through first. “1’ll ch3ck b4ck l4t3r-r-r.”

Through one portal and then another they land in the living room where Cross and Killer are racing each other in some sort of video game. Both only give slight peeks to see who has shown up before returning their eye lights to the screen. Horror sits on the couch eating popcorn as he watches the tension grow as they enter the final lap.

“Where ya been?” Horror tosses a few kernels into his maw. “We were gonna have a tournament.”

“Took the kid for a walk.” Dust jokes as the little skele plops beside Horror. “Looked like he needed some exercise.”

“More likely he took ya out for exercise.” Horror teases offering the bowl’s contents to the little skele. “Did he ask ya to tone him up?”

“Yes! I win!” Cross jumps up as Killer slumps over. “Haha! You guys want to join?”

“Can you teach me?” The little skele jumps over the coffee table to sit between Cross and Killer taking the time to pat the latter’s back in sympathy. “I haven’t tried playing video games yet.”

“Alright, here hold the controller like this.” Cross instructs adjusting the little skele’s hands. “Do you two want to play and I can help direct him on how to play?”

Dust and Horror shrug as they grab controllers to join the game. Cross explains what all the different buttons do in this particular game and the best way to adjust his hands to hit them. The other two take their time picking their vehicles and racers as the instruction took place. Then the little skele quickly looks through stats and picks his own getting used to the feel of the controller. Error takes the abandoned bowl of popcorn and sits back to watch the game begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Slight panic attack.


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning at bottom
> 
> Day Count: 41
> 
> Sometimes no magic is more dangerous than well crafted magic.

“It doesn’t make sense.” The little skele flops back on the bench, Nightmare looking back at him from watching the others sparring. “Separating it from me is weird and the explanations aren’t helping.”

Nightmare is running out of ideas to try out with the little skele and his magic. It is getting to the point that he is starting to think that something is either preventing the little skele from accessing that kind of magic or that he really didn’t have the ability to use that sort of magic. Putting this much focus on it would not be helping in either case.

“And you were actually trying?” Nightmare sighs at the little skele’s flinch knowing it is from the accusation and not guilt. “Do you not feel anything when you try or is it like you can’t force control?”

“The ecto is magic that feels like it is always there just muted but I can’t find the magic that is supposed to leave me.” The little skele tries to explain extremely disappointed in himself. “I try until it hurts but it feels like I am going to fall apart before my magic leaves me.”

“It shouldn’t hurt.” Nightmare tries to think. “Never push your magic until it hurts, you could cause serious damage. I think we should stop this training…”

“No, I can do it. I won’t give up.” The little skele quickly sits back up to try again. “I won’t disappoint you.”

“No.” Nightmare growls snatching the little skele’s hand to keep his focus. “You might not be able to and that is not your fault… We can try again at a later time but don’t train that kind of magic without supervision.”

“I was really trying, I swear.” The little skele looks up at Nightmare. “Please believe me, I was trying so hard.”

“Damn it, listen. I believe that you have been trying to properly use your magic to form constructs. You said you were and even if the results were not what we were expecting there is evidence of your attempts.” Nightmare feels the little skele start relaxing. “As long as you try none of us will be disappointed. Even if you utterly fail. Can’t tell you how many explosions we have cleaned up because of Dust. How many meals we have choked down due to a bad recipe Horror has tried. Not to mention all the rescues on our missions… As long as you do not give me reason to believe otherwise I will believe you. I may attempt to push you past what you think is your limit or make you try something you don’t think you can do but I won’t break you. You are mine, remember.”

Nightmare lets his words sink in and waits as the little skele collects himself. This type of training really isn’t fitting the little skele anyways, it didn’t have enough movement. Dust had told Nightmare about their trip to DanceTale; how the movement excited the little skele and the ability to hear the melodies in the monsters’ Souls. Unique abilities could overwrite the base abilities they were used to seeing.

“Would you feel comfortable sparring with me?” Nightmare asks as the little skele stands to stretch, having been too fidgety to remain seated. “We can figure out more about your magic later, maybe it will naturally manifest if we stop trying to force it.”

“Yes, spar please.” The little skele looks for a good section of empty floor. “Over there, we should have room.”

Nightmare follows rolling his eye light when the little skele runs off not seeming to realize he has forgotten to put his shirt back on. It also doesn’t seem to faze the little skele that he is barefoot for all of this as well. As soon as the little skele is in position his excitement becomes controlled just like every other time he has faced one of the others, this will be the first time Nightmare has faced him directly and not just been a distraction from the sidelines.

“This is definitely going to be interesting.” Nightmare grins as soon as he recognizes Cross’s stance, it is going to be like he is switching between fighting the others if the little skele stuck to how he has been fighting so far. “Do you want conditions to the spar?”

“No thanks.” The little skele tightens his stance bracing for the start. “Anything goes.”

“Have it your way.” Nightmare shrugs and faces the little skele squarely. “Stops when someone calls it, or the other immobilizes them.”

Only looking to start the fight by breaking the others stance, as soon as Nightmare gets a nod to the rules, he launches a tentacle straight at the little skele. Immediately the little skele settles into the relaxed stance Dust usually adopted when he knows he is about to have to dodge multiple attacks. For the moment Nightmare gives the little skele what he expects wanting to see if he can actually put the stance into practice or just mimic the stance. The little skele dodges just enough to avoid the blow except in the cases where Nightmare intends to turn the strike into a swipe or grab. Realizing he is being read Nightmare switches tactics.

Nightmare experiments with leading the little skele around their little spar area. The little skele gives no indication that he realized he is being lead. At the same time Nightmare can’t tell what the little skele is doing to read him; initial movement, sensing magic, not instincts (the kid has none). So Nightmare switches tactics and tries to trip him up. Bringing up a blunt bone from the ground Nightmare watches as the little skele’s foot connects and stops abruptly. The little skele’s knee hits the ground and Nightmare decides to keep up the pressure. Undeterred the little skele doesn’t halt his movements pivoting on the knee that hit the ground and fluidly placing his other foot to pick him back up.

“Learn something from your visit to DanceTale?” Nightmare chuckles aiming a few more bones to trip up the other but now that he knows to expect them he is dodging them as well. “Maybe I should make everyone take dance lessons if they can be translated to fighting maneuvers like that.”

Nightmare catches the confused look on the little skele’s face before it is masked again. Then the little skele’s eye lights seem to flare and he rushes forward. Startled, Nightmare adjusts his stance and tosses a sharp bone that the little skele avoids by a hair only to lightly lay a hand on the side of Nightmare’s ribs before ducking out. Agitated by the soft move Nightmare whips out at the little skele’s ankles to hoist him up before him but can’t quite catch him.

“What was that?” Nightmare growls throwing up a wall of bone in the escaping skeleton’s path. “It wasn’t even a proper attack.”

“Oof, wait, time out.” The little skele ducks out of the way of a tentacle onslaught as his back presses to the wall. “Don’t understand.”

The bones cracking under the blows of the tentacles covers up the little skele’s words. Nightmare’s anger isn’t only bleeding into his words but is making his attacks sharper and the little skele is now making mistakes. Unsure of what he has done and only knowing the other is angry the little skele’s thoughts are distracted, not enough to trip up yet but enough not to realize the danger.

Although his movements are becoming stiff and he is exhausting the little skele changes tactics. When he spots it he lunges forward placing his hand on the side of Nightmare’s left knee before slipping to what is normally his guard point for the others. Several failed attempts to shake the little skele from his blind spot Nightmare feels something off… He’s being lead. What should have been a defensive tactic is being used against an opponent. Which would have been all well and good but the little skele still isn’t delivering blows like he is supposed to be.

“Enough!” Nightmare declares swiping several tentacles around as he turns realizing too late how much tension he is holding in them.

The little skele moves with the blow bringing his right arm up to cover his head and bracing it with his left. Not expecting the strength behind it the little skele cries out as he is launched across the room. His flight cuts between Killer and Cross but Horror jumps between him and the wall several feet from impact but is still thrown into it by the force. Shocked by his own actions Nightmare just stands there panting looking at the scene.

“Just hold still, yer alright.” Horror feels the little skele shaking in his arms. “I gotcha.”

“His arm is dislocated.” Dust observes. “Some cracks but nothing serious.”

“Nightmare?” Cross approaches cautiously. “What happened?”

“Got a bit too serious.” Nightmare admits. “When you spar with him do you ever feel threatened?”

“Sometimes, sorta… it feels very instinctual, not like I am actually afraid but…” Cross tries to put the feeling into words. “Like something…”

“Anticipation.” Killer interjects. “We know what fighting is like but he has no presence and that triggers our instincts into thinking we have lost sight of something dangerous. So we are just waiting for our mistake to come back to bite us.”

“I need to go set his arm.” Nightmare steps away grabbing the first aid kit from under a bench, hoping the little skele will even let him close enough to tend to him. “Dust, let me see.”

Dust looks back at Nightmare and gets out of the way. The little skele is curled up in Horror’s lap hugging his arm to his chest, magic straining to keep his arm from going too far. Not sure what kind of mental condition the little skele is in, Nightmare doesn’t want to just start tugging on him but his sockets are scrunched in pain and teeth creaking from pressure. Horror petting his skull is not even seeming to register.

CHECK

Skeleton

HP 14/20

LV 1

EXP 0

ATK 0

DEF -

HURTS

Keep quiet, don’t make them angrier

They want you here, they said so.

-

“Horror, you need to hold him so I can set this is one go. I will go on three.” Nightmare continues to examine the shoulder moving the little skele’s bracing hand, he has done this more times than he can count but it’s always harder with a squirming patient. “Hey, you are going to feel a pop and possibly a spike of pain but it will feel better after a moment. Just try to hold still, you don’t have to stay quiet. One… Two… Three.”

Horror hugs the little skele tightly to his chest as he cries out and tries to kick out of his lap. The shaking has intensified as the little skele realizes he isn’t going anywhere and curls back into himself, trying to be small enough to hide in Horror’s arms. Nightmare holds the injured arm as still as he can, knowing he has it in place and just needs the magic to stabilize.

Knowing the little skele will need a moment Nightmare examines the rest of the damage. He had never used that much force on any of his boys, the only reason this isn’t worse is the little skele’s quick thinking to lessen the blow by moving with it. With the little skele’s quick healing he would just need to rest the arm maybe a day, the cracks would be healed before the end of the night, especially if they could get some healing gel on them and some food in him.

“What did I do?” The little skele huffs still half hiding in Horror’s arms pretending like he isn’t crying. “I couldn’t understand… Not used to banter while fighting.”

“We can discuss our spar after we have you patched up.” Nightmare makes sure the arm is laying in a way that the shoulder isn’t bearing most of the load. “Try not to move your arm for now.”

“‘Kay…” The little skele lets his eyes droop close. “Just going to close my eyes.”

“Uh, I think he just passed out.” Horror stops his petting to lay the little skele out from his curled up position. “Should we…”

“No, let him rest. He will be calmer when he wakes up.” Nightmare opens the first aid kit and starts using the healing gel on the cracks. “And stop looking at me like that… I overestimated his ability and struck out too hard.”

No one really pushes the issues, they have all found themselves getting caught up in their spars with the little skele, only Nightmare pulling his punches still really isn’t saying much. Cross runs out to get a loose shirt they could get the little skele comfortably in and returns by the time Nightmare has finished wrapping him up. It isn’t until Nightmare is adjusting his arm into a sling that the little skele starts to stir again and he feels the sling go taught. He almost mistakes the distressed whimper.

“Easy, it is just a sling.” Nightmare holds the injured arm steady as Horror pets the little skele’s skull until he calms. “Keep your arm still.”

“Ow.” The little skele forces his heavy sockets open and tugs at the shirt he didn’t have on before. “Not mine.”

“No but it is easier to get you in with your arm.” Cross answers as Nightmare hands the little skele a pill. “For being thrown across the room you aren’t too injured.”

“Seriously?” Killer huffs and shakes the water bottle in his hand. “I was handing you water.”

“Oh, right.” The little skele halfheartedly grins. “Try to remember for next time.”

“Now that you are treated I want you to answer something for me.” Nightmare looks sternly at the little skele being helped into a sitting position by Horror. “Why weren’t you taking the spar seriously? You got close enough to touch me twice and both times you simply placed your hand on me.”

“If I had attempted an actual strike you would have clobbered me. Just like when I try against the others and then I get lectured about suicide tactics because I aim for the trade of blows.” The little skele easily explains. “I was just trying to see if I could get in to the points Cross taught me, without getting hurt and figured I could learn the proper way to deal a blow without opening myself up to a counter.”

“Why did you not just say that when I first asked?” Nightmare rubs his socket seeing the logic now but still irritated. “I thought you were playing.”

“I didn’t clearly hear what you said.” The skele pouts. “Tried to call time out or something.”

“Hold on.” Killer looks to Nightmare. “He slipped past your defenses?”

“Yes.” Nightmare can’t completely hide the defensiveness the realization causes even as he feels rather proud the little skele pulled it off. “Then turned that defensive guard into an offensive control.”

Most of them are thinking the same thing, if this skeleton didn’t have such passive magic he could be absolutely deadly. The little skele didn’t want that though and teaching him to fight is so they could assure a higher chance of him coming home in one piece. They are pretty sure the only reason the little skele enjoyed the sparring so much is how much he got to move. Though they also couldn’t deny that having him as a sparring partner really helped hone their own skill as well.

“Come on.” Horror rose from the floor with the little skele in his arms “Ya need food.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: violence through training, injury garnered from training
> 
> I think I asked before but do you guys want the day count... I could put it in top notes if you want it.
> 
> Nightmare feels horrible for that. It isn't like the little skele knows what he is doing.


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at bottom
> 
> Day count: 43

“Try again Dust.” Nightmare confiscates Dust’s bag as soon as he steps into the living room. “This time without whatever is making you feel so mischievous.”

“Oh come on.” Dust slumps. “I wasn’t going to target you.”

“We need to keep a low profile.” Nightmare opens the bag. “Not happening.”

“Fine.” Dust leaves to go pack another bag.

“Seriously, the only person I have not had to send to repack is our newest and I am pretty sure that is only because he has not been here long enough to collect any contraband.” Nightmare glares at Cross and Killer who are sitting with their stuff. “This is supposed to be one of the few nice days out we try and you are all packing like we are headed to cause chaos.”

“Sorry, we are just a little excited.” Cross looks to the little skele who had been the most excited about this but at some point in the last two hours of the others being sent to repack he has fallen asleep leaning over the arm of the couch. “What kind of AU did we find this time?”

“FellSwap that made it to the surface. Integration is working but they haven’t travelled far from the mountain. I have found a national park that has large areas of isolation where we can have a quiet afternoon with no one stumbling upon us.” Nightmare explains since they have the time and glances in the direction Cross is looking and sees the little skele. “Did you guys keep him up all night? I told everyone we were going to have an early start. Not that we are keeping to that too well.”

“Horror checked on him when he got up for a midnight snack and said that he was still up having trouble sleeping.” Killer watches Nightmare place the little skele in a more comfortable sleeping position. “I don’t think he has ever seen much of anything but his own room for years.”

“Don’t remind me.” Cross gives a bit of a shiver. “It was so white.”

“Alright, just a few things.” Horror drops his bag by the couch and sits next to the little skele. “Not half the fridge.”

“I told you I packed more than enough food for today Horror.” Nightmare can feel the slight pang of anxiety from Horror. “How is your emergency stash in your inventory?”

“Recently restocked.” Horror admits having forgotten about it. “Just being stupid.”

“None of that.” Nightmare admonishes. “Where is Dust?”

“Right here.” He runs into the room with a bag lightly packed. “Nothing suspicious.”

“Uh-huh… It is already later than I wanted.” Nightmare looks around to check that everyone is ready and sees the still sleeping little skele. “Wake him or pack him.”

Neither Dust nor Killer have been able to carry the little skele without making him uncomfortable. So Horror reaches over to try to gently shake him awake but he doesn’t even stir. Cross jumps up and comes over to offer his back to carry the little skele. Horror lifts the skele enough to grab the back of his shirt and hold him up for Cross to get a good hold of him. The little skele’s only response to the manhandling is to nuzzle his head under Cross’s hood before completely relaxing back into sleep.

Nightmare quickly turns from everyone to open a portal for them to start filing through. They slip through several AUs before Nightmare grabs everyone and shortcuts to the area he had found in this FellSwap. There is a clearing big enough to lay out a picnic right next to a creek that isn’t deeper than waist deep for most of the gang. Nightmare finds a nice shady spot under a tree as most of the boys start tossing clothes to rush into the creek.

“Um, where should I lay him?” Cross stands in front of Nightmare as he pulls out a book. “I don’t think he is going to wake for a bit.”

“Right here is fine.” Nightmare motions right next to him but Cross hesitates. “Problem?”

“Well he is a cuddler.” Cross shuffles his feet. “We aren’t at the hideout so…”

“And.” Nightmare tosses a stick from where he had said to lay the little skele. “Right here is fine.”

Reassured Cross kneels to lay the little skele next to Nightmare who assists with his tentacles as he opens his book to read. Cross, as quickly as his complicated outfit will allow him to, strips and joins the others in the water (someone had smuggled some water guns). It isn’t long before the little skele has himself tucked up against Nightmare’s side. When Nightmare feels the arm clutch to the front of his shirt he can only be thankful the others are in the water unable to pull out their phones and just gently places his hand on the little skele’s shoulder.

A strong gust of wind blows through the area rustling leaves drawing Nightmare’s gaze up to watch the shadows and light dance above him. The light shifts over the closed sockets of the little skele and he shift uncomfortably before bringing a hand up to rub at his eyes. When he realizes he is cuddling someone he jerks up to apologize but is caught off guard by his surroundings. Nightmare looks down at the little skele and notices the shock on his face.

“Th-there’s no ceiling.” The little skele continues to stare at the sky. “It’s so… so bright.”

“This is above ground, no ceiling. It is a sunny day with hardly any clouds, so the sun seems quite bright up there right now.” Nightmare speaks cautiously not sure which way this is fixing to go; excitement or fear. “It is warm, so there is no snow… I need you to keep talking so I can gauge your reaction.”

“Heh… heh… I think… I think I might have stopped, um… believing it existed… at some point.” The little skele sat on his knees unable to move for fear of waking himself. “I was supposed… supposed to get everyone up here… but… Sun… where’s the sun?”

Carefully Nightmare places a hand on the little skele’s shoulder and points between some branches to where the sun is floating in the light blue expanse. Upon trying to look up at it the little skele immediately shields his sockets with another short bout of that unsure laughter. A bird flying to rest on a branch above them causes him to jump and immediately stand to follow it to another tree. Putting his book away Nightmare follows him. When the bird flies off again Nightmare has to catch the little skele from taking off after it.

“If you are going to go into the water you should at least remove your socks and shoes.” Nightmare holds the little skele up half a step from splashing into the creek. “You can join the others or continue running around the clearing if that is what you want.”

“…is it like a bath?” The little skele looks back to Nightmare confused. “What am…. Wait, what’s that?”

“A cloud.” Nightmare looks up into the sky. “You won’t get clean, the opposite really… Just go splash around with the others and they will show you.”

The others quickly make like they haven’t been watching the two since the little skele’s first little outburst, even if he hadn’t been loud. Once free the little skele quickly and carelessly pulls the shoes then socks from his feet. As he had been instructed he is already in his swim trunks, yet the others are a mix of still wearing shirts and being shirtless which causes him to once again hesitate.

“There isn’t a right way, just what you are more comfortable with.” Nightmare interrupts the internal turmoil. “Just toss it with your shoes if you want to take it off.”

Pulling his shirt over his head he tosses the shirt onto his pile of stuff. Then again hesitates like he is debating how he should get in the water. He is about to turn back around to ask something else of Nightmare when he is lifted off the ground.

“Heads up.” Nightmare calls tossing the little skele into the middle of the group. “And I am not tossing anyone else.”

Dust is the closest one to where the little skele is going to land and quickly gets under him to attempt to catch him. He manages to get the little skele to land in his arms but they both go under water before he can reclaim his footing. The little skele has a mixed look not knowing how to respond to what just happened. In that moment of trying to figure out if he should try to put the little skele on his feet he gets sprayed in the side of the head.

“Hey, no fair.” Dust tries to hide his head behind the little skele. “At least let me make sure he’s okay… Ready to stand yet? It’s not too deep.”

“Right, yes.” The little skele holds onto Dust as he tries to find his footing on the smooth stones of the creek and the water comes to the bottom of his ribs. “Now what?”

“Now you get as much water as you can on the others.” Dust ducks under the water to reclaim his water gun. “Oh, try to avoid Horror’s head, he has trouble removing the water.”

“My team!” Cross comes up from swimming under water and pulls the little skele away from Dust. “Just swipe over the water and you will throw a bunch of water.”

The little skele attempts and hardly causes Dust to lift his arm to defend himself from the oncoming droplets of water. Cross quickly aims over the little skele to keep Dust from shooting either of them and drags them to a safe distance from the others. It takes a bit of instruction as Cross continues to shoot the others so that the little skele can toss up a decent splash if the others get too close.

“Alright, alright. Break.” Horror huffs gun in the air to indicate he is attempting to call at least a temporary truce. “Let’s catch our breaths and see if the little guy is even liking the water.”

“Yeah, he was kind of just thrown into our battle.” Killer takes a deep breath not having to worry about a face full of water for the moment. “So, first impressions?”

“Um… like a bath but bigger.” The little skele tries to think of something better as the others begin laughing. “Well, I mean… I don’t have much to compare it to, but it is fun.”

“You’re good. Just wasn’t expecting that comparison.” Killer tosses his water gun into his inventory. “Do you float or sink?”

“We still haven’t figured out why some of us float if we just lay back and some of us sink like rocks.” Dust watches the little skele think. “Horror and Killer sink. Me and Cross float… Just lay back we won’t let you go under for too long, a second at the most.”

“No… I float…” The little skele pulls away from the others his eyes lights clearly saying he checked out for a moment. “I don’t really know… I mean I just…”

“Hey, you don’t want to, you don’t have to.” Cross brings his hands above water in a calming gesture. “We believe you, you don’t have to explain.”

“…’Kay…” The little skele takes a deep breath trying to pull himself back together. “I don’t think I should try to float on my back.”

“Do ya want to stay in the water?” Horror sits so just his head remains above the water a few steps closer to the shore. “We can probably find something ta get into on shore.”

“Now you are showing off just because you are the tallest out of us.” Dust gripes sinking to his knees to keep his head above water. “Maybe we can take turns playing chicken.”

“No!” Nightmare declares from the shore not even looking up from his book.

Distracted by Nightmare calling out to them and trying to figure out what they would like to do next they don’t notice the little skele wandering off on them. Movement on the other side of the creek had caught the little skele’s attention. So he is moving as quietly as he can through the water trying to keep his sights on where he had seen something. SPLASH!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Anxiety
> 
> So we got an outing, not the typical beach cliche but water and fun
> 
> So since there was interest in a day count I am definitly going to get on that. I will go back through and put it on every chapter next update. Saw some interest in guessing what day we are on so I will let you guys guess before spoiling it. Have fun.


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at bottom
> 
> Day Count: 43
> 
> Turn of events...

“What is that?” The little skele’s eye lights follow the darting shadow in the water. “It’s fast.”

“Hell, I thought all our commotion would have scared all the fish away for a while.” Dust sighs having been startled by the fish splashing back into the water from where it had jumped after a dragonfly the little skele is now whipping his head around to watch. “Don’t go wandering off on us like that.”

“I was going to catch it so I could ask what it is.” The little skele lets Killer pull him closer to the shore, walking is awkward that deep. “Is it dangerous, should I not have gotten close to it?”

“It is a fish… The closest you have seen to a fish is probably Undyne.” Killer shakes his head thinking. “It is just an animal that lives in the water. I will show you some pictures later so you can get a better idea.”

“How about you all come dry off and we can unpack lunch.” Nightmare already has a blanket laid out and is pulling out the food. “Dry off away from the blanket.”

Horror makes the need for Nightmare’s instruction clear when he gets out of the water and then proceeds to shake himself of water. The little skele immediately tries to imitate the action and although he does it effectively, it isn’t as impressive since he isn’t wearing the extra layers that hold water. Towels are quickly dawned and dry clothes hurried into. Spots are wrestled over and Nightmare has to save several dishes from being squashed before everyone is settled in to eat.

As everyone’s food is settling, everyone is just sitting around chatting when a bright blue bird lands at the edge of their clearing. Not wanting to appear to be sneaking off like with the fish the little skele taps blindly at the skeleton to his left. Killer gives his head an affectionate jostle and watches as the little skele tries to get a closer look at the bird. As he gets close enough to touch he just smiles as it preens its wing before becoming startled and flying away, too far to follow. About to get after Dust and Cross for fighting over a chocolate bar so loudly, Killer hears another noise. Nightmare also suddenly goes on alert.

“What are monsters doing way out here?” A man with a handgun points his firearm right between the little skele’s sockets as he speaks to his partner. “This’ll be fun.”

“I agree.” Nightmare’s sharpened tentacle goes straight through the chest of the human. “How about a hunt boys?”

“Time to work off the meal.” Horror pulls his axe from his inventory standing behind the little skele being as intimidating as a cracked skull, walking, talking skeleton can be.

“Don’t one shot ‘em this time.” Dust chuckles magic seeping from his multi colored eye.

“They are the ones who wanted to play.” Killer leans forward placing the tip of his knife to the throat of the stunned man. “…Run.”

As if he had been waiting for the order, the man takes off running into the woods. Then like predators sensing wounded prey, the three skeletons bolt after him intent on making sure he doesn’t leave the woods. Nightmare drops the body off his tentacle and wipes the blood off on the corpse as he watches them disappear. Once they are out of site he turns back to look at the little skele still kneeling on the ground. The moment he moves to approach him the little skele flinches, forcibly keeping his hands from coming up in a defensive gesture if only barely.

“Sorry, I-I froze.” The little skele lowers his hands but doesn’t look away from the body. “Didn’t realize what he was doing… What was he doing?”

“It is a weapon humans use. It is used instead of magic. Guess we can mark off Mob and Mafia as AUs you may have visited if this is the first you have seen a gun.” Nightmare grabs a towel and wipes the blood that had spattered on the little skele, who had been too close. “Had he pulled the trigger a bit of metal, a bullet, would have come out of it at very high speeds and with the intent he was putting off…”

“Sorry, didn’t know.” The little skele rubs his arm nervously. “Didn’t see him. I was distracted. I put everyone in danger.”

“You were almost killed and you are worried about us?” Cross stomps his foot in indignation. “If Nightmare…”

“Cross, he is processing. Let him catch up to what just happened before you chastise him too harshly.” Nightmare takes the little skele’s hand to keep him from damaging his arm. “The danger is passed but we should not stick around. We will head out once the others get back and cleaned up. Sit over here and just take it easy, you are fine, we are fine. I gave none of you permission to die.”

\----------

“He was pathetic.” Killer huffs walking back into the clearing. “No challenge at all.”

“Awe man, are we leaving?” Dust looks at the packed up food and folded blanket. “Ruining all of our fun. Ouch!”

The little skele is sitting against a tree hugging his knees to his ribs and had ducked his head at Dust’s complaint. He hadn’t been allowed to get up and help with any of the packing up, even his own stuff had been collected for him. Killer walks over to check on him and the little skele looks up guiltily at the approaching skeleton. Crouching down Killer gently pulls the clutching hands from his humerous.

“You didn’t get hurt right?” Killer looks him over. “Humans can be so unpredictable.”

“He was just there and then Nightmare saved me. I am not really sure what happened in between.” The little skele looks back to the ground. “You guys didn’t get hurt chasing the other one right?”

“Nah, he was a coward.” Killer assures. “Nothing to talk about. It was a very disappointing hunt.”

“Killer, what’s going to happen to him?” The little skele looks over to the human Nightmare took care of. “He hasn’t dusted yet, so…”

“Oh right, um, humans don’t dust like monsters.” Killer doesn’t look away from the little skele, noticing a bit of distress but nothing to really worry too much about. “Hey, you aren’t insane… It is alright if you are not alright.”

The little skele just shrugs not really sure how to take in what had happened. Pulling his arms away from Killer, he lays his face in his arms to hide from the others for a bit. Killer gives him his space and goes to see if he can be of any help getting them out of here any quicker. It doesn’t take long to finish packing, they had been mostly waiting for the hunting party to return.

“Hey, mind if I carry ya?” Horror waits for a nod before lifting the little skele. “Alright, ready to head out.”

“I’m not hurt you know.” The little skele mumbles. “Just didn’t know what was going on.”

“Yer fine, we’re worrying.” Horror grins. “Besides, Cross carried ya here, I wanna carry ya back.”

The little skele snuggles into Horror making it easier to carry him. Nightmare does a last scan of the area to make sure that they have not left any other evidence of their visit besides the bodies that the wildlife will take care of for them. Then he opens the first portal of three to jump home without being tracked. It is during the second AU that they run into trouble.

“The hell!” Horror turns from the chaos to use his body to block the little skele. “Ya need to get out of sight… Nightmare will grab ya when we are leaving.”

“How did they know we were going to be coming through here?” Nightmare growls dodging red paint thrown at him and looks to see Horror has gotten the little skele out of the battle. “Go for dust.”

The code phrase sends the gang off to their assigned duties when this sort of thing happens. It is the little skele’s job to keep an eye out for anything that Cross might have missed considering there is so much going on. Though the big difference being that the little skele is only to be seen in the case of an absolute emergency. Moving carefully through the trees the little skele finds the reason for the Star Sanses appearance in this AU and pulls out his phone to send a text message for Nightmare. It is several long moments before the little skele sees Nightmare get a moment to glance to the single word sent to him: Fresh.

“…” Nightmare disappears into the shadows of the trees like he is preparing an attack but pops up next to the little skele. “Where?”

Quickly finding the spot again the little skele points out where Fresh has taken cover when the Star Sans had been distracted by the gang’s arrival. Nightmare pinpoints a bit of movement trying to conceal itself behind some trashcans. With a curse Nightmare re-evaluates the field and lashes out at Dream’s back when it becomes exposed, he could not remain out of the fight for long before the other side became suspicious.

“Keep it up.” Nightmare says distractedly as an arrow of light wizzes by the both of them. “We’ll help him.”

Nightmare disappears into his shadow and returns to the battle to redirect the gang to give Fresh an opportunity to escape. The little skele sends several more messages, this time to Cross, to further agitate Ink who can’t seem to figure out why they are more organized than usual. Ink seems to be pushed over the edge when Fresh is given the opportunity to open a colorful portal he uses to escape and Ink downs a vial of paint.

“No you don’t!” Dust tries to interrupt Ink downing the vial. “I’ll dust you!”

Before they know it Ink’s eyes stop shifting shapes and go red to focus on Dust. Ink swung his brush to throw paint at Killer who had tried a sneak attack while Dust is being loud and straight forward. The swing brings the brush back around to crash into Dust’s skull before he can get his footing to get out of the way. Dust is concussed and kneeling on the ground, completely gone from his surroundings. While Killer is being kept back from getting Dust out and not being enough of a threat to draw Ink away from trying to finish one of them off.

The little skele quickly sends out the situation to Cross when an idea comes to him. It is a half thought out plan that Cross had teased him jokingly with on several occasions. Dust is in trouble though and the others were not in a position to leave the fight with Dream. Upon looking across the field even Cross is having a distracting battle with Blue, the little skele had never seen him before and doesn’t know how much trouble Cross is in. So, his text not even being seen yet and Killer unable to go one on one with the insane creator on whatever is in that vial, the little skele makes up his mind.

Opening his inventory, the little skele pulls out the striped shirt Cross had insisted he keep there for emergencies. Not even bothering to remove his current shirt he throws it on as he hears Killer cry out before he can get his head through the hole. Killer lays stunned quite a ways away and Dust is shaking his head like water had gotten in his skull but still not aware of the danger. The little skele bolts forward as Ink raises his giant brush to bring down as a finishing blow.

“Ink, help! Help me!” The little skele didn’t have to fake the tears or fear as he wrapped his arms around the insane skeletons middle. “Help, please. I…”

The blow is too sudden, the little skele too wrapped up in his act and his fear. He went through the side of a building and the structure falters with the added damage. It is all too fast the little skele doesn’t have time to feel either impact. As such he cannot figure out why everything is going black around the edges, or why there is something heavy pinning him down, or why he is getting so tired…

CHECK

Skeleton

HP 3/20

LV 1

EXP 0

ATK 0

DEF -

…

Acted, helped

Useful

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Death, fighting, violence, injury
> 
> So that splash wasn't so bad.
> 
> Uh, so, um, sorry...
> 
> This doesn't look good.
> 
> All chapters now have the day count.


	36. Chapter 36

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at bottom
> 
> Day Count: 43...
> 
> Who is coming to the rescue?

“Yeah, yeah… Not clean up squad.” Someone gripes close to the little skele pulling his mind from the darkness that had taken him. “Always callin’ after all da damn fun.”

There is shifting of debris close by and the little skele tries to burrow further in to hide. Several things stop him from being able to move himself. For the most part the little skele is in a pocket of fallen wall and ceiling but two beams have him pinned down. One just below his scapula hardly left him a gap to breath but scraped at him if he tried to move while the second pinned him at his illium hard enough to ache after all this time. Neither would have been enough to keep him from squirming out to deal with the pain later but something is between the tibia and fibula of his left leg. The shifting debris drops a piece of wall to cover his legs. Growling more from surprise than pain the shifting stops.

“Da hell?” The griping voice speaks quietly. “Some’ne actually in dere.”

Not knowing who is out there the little skele just growls again, hoping to sound more vicious than scared this time. The shifting continues and the little skele twists his arm to try and get to his pocket where his phone is tucked, the beam making it awkward. If the shifting got too close or is causing things to look shaky the little skele gives another warning growl even if it isn’t deterring the other at this point. He has the phone in his fingertips, coming out of his pocket when gravity tries to be of assistance and causes the phone to slip out of his pocket. Unable to stop himself he whimpers when he can’t find it with his groping hand.

“‘Ey, ya ain’t squashed are ya?” The voice asks, stopping to listen before continuing when the little skele refuses to answer. “I’ll be pissed if ya dust on me.”

A broken half of a door is lifted and the skele’s dark little spot is flooded with light. Scraping a line across his back the little skele pushes himself into some of the remaining shadow growling warningly not able to see more than an outline of his supposed rescuer. Now the little skele is really panicking unable to go anywhere and not knowing what they would do when they found out who he is.

“‘Ey, cool it, not gonna eat ya er nothin’.” The figure shifts so the light exposes him a bit better. “Jus’ let me get ya out.”

The skeleton is large, not fat but tall and bulky. He is dressed in pinstriped slacks held up with suspenders, what were probably usually shined dress shoes, and a nice red button up shirt rolled above his elbows. His sharp teeth marked him as Fell and then light glinting off the gold tooth reminds the little skele to growl again as the Sans skeleton moves to reach for him.

“Really kid?” The Sans hesitates and takes a moment to examine the trapped skeleton further. “Ya might be a bit more threatin’en if dose teeth weren’t so blunt.”

The little skele is still hyperventilating trying to figure out what sort of options he has at his disposal. He can feel the beam on his back restricting his breaths even further and when he scooted away from the intruder he lost the maneuverability to get his other hand back up to defend himself. When the other reaches in to grab the little skele, he shows him what blunt teeth can do. Clamping down on the larger skeleton’s metacarpals still growling up at the other.

“Damn it! Ya feral er somethin’?” The Sans doesn’t pull from the little skele and smiles. “A’ight, got da point, feisty little spaz. Le’ go and I give ya space.”

Hesitantly the little skele releases the larger skeleton and shifts defensively further back waiting for the retaliation. Instead the Sans sits back on his haunches and looks around the area. Then examines his bitten hand, the little skele had not bitten hard enough to draw marrow but left a mark without touching his HP. After thinking for a bit he opens his inventory and sets a few things in the little skele’s reach, earning a whimper when he moves too fast.

“Not gonna ‘urt ya… If ya ain’t gonna let me free ya I need ta see if others need help.” Sans places his hands on his knees to rise. “I’ll return when ya’ve had time ta chill.”

Sans hesitates long enough for the little stubborn skele to call him back in some way but leaves when no attempts are made. The little skele waits until he is out of sight and can’t hear his footsteps before examining the things the larger skeleton left him. A bottle of water and some kind of sandwich, neither of which he trusts enough to try. So he hides them away, just in case he gets desperate. With a sigh he settles in to wait. If there are still other Sans around with at least one injured gang member it is going to be a bit before real rescue can come.

\---------- (Day 44)

Intentionally loud footfall comes closer to where the little skele still laid trapped and he remains quiet, so as not to draw unwanted attention. Then a familiar set of shoes and trousers comes into view. The little skele really isn’t in the mood to deal with this Sans again; he had stayed up all night not trusting what could happen while stuck in his predicament. Thirst and hunger hasn’t won out yet so the Sans’ parting gift is still hidden at hand in the debris. When he takes a seat, sitting cross-legged, outside the dilapidated opening, the little skele doesn’t acknowledge him hoping he will just leave again.

“In a better mood today?” Sans asks but the little skele plays deaf and doesn’t react. “Nah? If ya’d let me get ya out…”

Immediately the little skele growls at that suggestion. Putting his elbow on his knee, Sans rests his cheek on his knuckles to just watch the little skele for a while. The little skele keeps completely still, trying not to give the other anything. Yet the Sans still seems to come to some kind of conclusion because he grins at the little skele.

“It offend ya if I checked ya?” Sans questions getting a growl as response. “Wanna make sure ya ain’t Fallin’ on me.”

Another growl, this one more adamant. Sans huffs and loses his grin before looking over at something outside of the little skele’s view. They stay this way for several hours. Then Sans stretches, popping several joints, and opens his inventory again. The little skele still doesn’t move or show any interest in what the other is doing. Still Sans pulls out a yellow bottle and a sandwich already cut in half wrapped in plastic. Squirting what the little skele can only guess is mustard into his mouth, Sans watches for any kind of reaction as he takes a bite of one of the triangles.

“Ya wanna bite?” Sans scoots just a bit closer. “Here, did nothin’ ta it.”

The little skele growls when Sans tries to hold the unbitten triangle out to him. With a sigh he just shakes his head and pops the rest of his half into his mouth, laying the untouched half back in the plastic. Moving it closer so the little skele can reach it they sit there in silence for about another half hour.

“Ya cain’t get yerself outta dere. Ya would of a’ready done it if ya could.” Sans points out still waiting for a reaction other than a growl but he doesn’t even get that, so he continues gently. “Are ya waitin’ on some’ne else ta come get ya? Lots of people got dusted in dat fight, dey might not exist anymore. Ya have a Papyrus out dere, dat migh’ need ya?”

No external reaction. The little skele is sure his actions had saved Dust, he is being taken care of at the hide out where Ink couldn’t get to him. His Papyrus has not needed him for a long time, at least not in any way that the little skele is currently able to do anything about. Nightmare and the gang are just waiting for an opening to come back for him, they didn’t forget and he proved he is useful… Unless he just evened the scale after the screw up with those humans… His thoughts throw his breathing off so he can’t help but breathe hard but continues to try and hold still.

“I jus’ wanna get ya out.” Sans tries to reach in again but the little skele growls harsher than he has all day in warning. “A’ight, a’ight… can ya even speak?”

The little skele just huffs and finally turns away from the other skeleton but doesn’t let him leave his peripheral. They return to sitting in silence as the little skele calms himself down wishing the other would just go away. It is very odd for someone to be this adamant with the little skele, normally when a new verse discovered him, they tried to dust him or chase him out. So what is going to happen here?

“Welp. I do have other duties…” Sans groaned as he got to his feet, taking extra time to pat off his pants. “Ya really don’ wanna let me get ya out?”

A low growl is his answer and he sighs again as he looks around the area. Then he shakes his head and turns to leave. The little skele listens intently to make sure he is gone before wrapping up the sandwich and storing it away, his scavenging side just wouldn’t let him leave it out to waste. Repressing his magic, he settles in for more waiting trying not to let boredom or exhaustion settle in because he doesn’t think he can afford sleep yet.

\----------

Knock, knock.

“Yer supposed ta say who’s dere.” Sans sits back in the little skele’s sight. “Not every Fell monster has alternative motives ‘gainst ya.”

Carefully Sans places another bottle of water in the little skele’s reach without getting in grabbing distance. The little skele has returned to just staring down the other skeleton but it doesn’t have the same hostility behind it, being trapped is so exhausting. It didn’t mean the little skele isn’t still going to try to take off a digit if the other tried another grab at him, just that he is going to save as much of his energy for that outcome if it should happen.

“Ya ain’t lookin’ so hot. Da bottle is still sealed.” Sans watches hoping to see the little skele’s eye lights at least glance to the bottle. “Did ya drink da first one? Yer one stubborn spaz… Do ya really want ta spend another night here?”

They share several hours of silence before Sans rises to his feet. The little skele hadn’t realized he is dozing until the movement startles him. He flinches causing several places to scrape and his leg to throb where there is still something through it. Although Sans had missed the flinch while he was getting up he didn’t miss the slight whimper and freezes to stare at the little skele pretending he hadn’t done anything.

“Be back in da mornin’ ta check on ya.” Sans shakes his head. “‘Less ya want me ta free ya now… A’ight, yer choice.”

\---------- (Day 45)

“Mornin’. Ya hungry?” Sans sits in his usual spot and just gets a huff from the little skele. “Look, sealed snacks.”

Several snacks are laid out for the little skele to choose from but he ignores them, like he has everything else the large skeleton has offered him. The little skele has gone longer without food, although he is pretty sure Horror is going to be upset with him. Would they be disappointed he is weakening in front of this stranger? Shaking himself the little skele forces himself to appear more… stubborn, hostile, whatever kept the other at bay. They sit for several hours in silence except the rustling of the snacks Sans decided to partake in, in an attempt to persuade the smaller.

“Guess ya won’t eat if I’m here.” Sans stood watching for the reaction he missed yesterday but it doesn’t happen this time. “See ya tonight… ‘Less ya want me to get ya out now?”

A growl answers and Sans departs with a sigh. The little skele squirrels away his spoils and returns to fighting sleep. The aches are beginning to become pain. The boredom, restlessness. The feeling of loneliness, abandonment… they wouldn’t though, Nightmare said he is his.

\----------

“Ya know ya don’t really look like ya could put up much a fight right now.” Sans informs taking his normal place. “Don’t think ya could throw anythin’ at me that would hurt.”

It took the little skele a minute to process what the other is talking about. Sans thought that he could throw around magic and he is looking low. Flashing his eyes in warning, he gives a warning growl hoping the other believes his bluff. He doesn’t move to do anything at least. More snacks, more long silence. Then Sans get up to leave.

“Let me help ya out?” Sans’ attempt gets him another growl. “Tomorrow maybe?”

The little skele is too tired… Just a short rest, so he doesn’t fall asleep while the other is here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: possible claustrophobia, biting, abandonment  
> I am bad at these warnings.
> 
> So did you figure out who this Sans is?


	37. Chapter 37

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at the bottom, more than usual
> 
> Day count: 60
> 
> MafiaFell Sans has been taking care of our little skele for awhile now.

“D4mm1t. W-w-w3 4r3 runn1ng 0ut 0f-f-f t1m3.” Error shortcuts into this AU’s brothers house. “C0d3 s41d-d-d th3 b4s3m3nt 1s… h3r3…”

The house sounds empty as Error heads for the hidden door that has its seams hidden between two shelves. A switch is right there at hand as soon as he strides onto the first step. It lights a single bulb at the bottom of the stairs that lead to a bare concrete floor. From his spot he can see the walls are brick and feel it is bitterly cold. Error hears the first sound of life in the house as he takes the next step and it squeaks in protest to his weight. Someone is in the basement and now knows he is there. When nothing else happens he continues down. In the dim light he can make out someone small trying to rise from their side to their knees but their hands are bound behind their back. That isn’t what garners the most of his anger though. The little skele is naked save for the leather mitts that cover from elbow to fingertip and from those are chains keeping him close to the wall where he can’t even fully lower his arms when he lays down. It isn’t until the little skele manages to get to his knees and Error is able to look past the fact his eye lights are hardly lit that he sees the band around the C4 vertebrae. He is broken from his staring when he hears the whimpering. Ready to run to his aid the sound of a shortcut stops him.

“Admirin’ my pet… First ta survive my trainin’.” This Sans, MafiaTale 131691, steps forward from the shadow under the stairs. “First one, fought da collar too hard, next three, dere Souls broke… Dis little spaz though, just feisty enough not to fall apart when he broke. Not too sure age, found him in stripes… Can’t ask, nonverbal, communicates in growls and whimpers; don’t like and sorry… Don’t think I can part wit’ him though.”

“Why w0uld-d-d 1 c4r3 4b0ut th4t?” Error watches this abomination raise a brow at him. “S4w l1v1ng c0d-d-d3 w4nt3d t0 m4k3 sur3 I d-d-d3l3t3d 3v3ryth1ng.”

“Not ‘fraid of ya, glitch. Reset brings me back, but won’t him. I’ve put a lot of work into my pet. ‘Sides…” The Sans walks past Error to kneel next to the little skele and lift his chin to look at Error. “Could ya really kill such an adorable lil skeleton?”

The Sans hooks a finger under the little skele’s mandible pulling him up and forward bit by bit. Error looks completely disinterested while contemplating the best ways to dust the monster before him. A low growl draws his attention as the Sans stops pulling on the little skele, who immediately falls into a pathetic sounding whimpering.

“Shh, did ‘xactly as I wanted ya to.” The Sans pets the little skele’s head. “Can’t have a pet that lets ya break ‘em fer no reason… He knows when he is allowed to object to treatment and when he deserves what he is gettin’.”

As if just noticing who the other skeleton in the room is the little skele briefly brightens his eye lights to see clearer for a moment and promptly starts shedding tears in shame. Error knows he is being cruel not immediately going to the little skele’s aid but things have to be done properly to protect all of them. The Sans doesn’t seem to notice his pet’s distress as he continues to watch Error, trying to figure something out.

“I keep detailed notes if ya wanna make yer own.” The Sans chuckles darkly, grin growing cruel as he moves the finger hooked under the little skele’s mandible to run over his teeth. “Imagine what he’ll be capable of once he’s old enough… ouch, dammit, didn’t I warn ya ‘bout bitin’… turn’bout’s fair play.”

The Sans Soul is suddenly jerked from his chest by Error’s strings. Examining the vile scared inverted heart tinted red from LV Error doesn’t find what he fears and looks to the Sans now standing before him sweating. Though there is an odd sense of magic pulsing in the Soul, Error doesn’t care about that at the moment and gives the Sans his most insane smile he can.

“Y0u 4b0m1n-n-n4t10ns 4lw4ys l1k3 t0 h34r-r-r y0urs3lv3s t4lk. M4k3s 1t 34sy t-t-t0 sn4tch th31r d1sgust1ng S0uls.” Error squeezes the Soul to watch the Sans fall to his knees in shocked pain. “N3v-v-v3r h4d y0ur S0ul pl4y3d w1th… Luck9 y0u 1 4m 1n 4 hur-r-r-ry t0d4y. 1 w1ll s3nd y0ur-r-r…p3t… t0 f0ll0w y0u t0 wh3r3 3v3r-r-r 1t 1s 4b0m1n4t10ns g0 w-w-wh3n 1 cl34ns3 th3m 0f th1s mult1v3rs3.”

“Be a shame ta lose da little spaz but I have da data to make another after da reset.” The Sans is clutching his chest like he is protecting the Soul already pulled from it. “Make da last few weeks of da little spaz’s life meanin’less, cruel.”

“Th3r3 4r3 n-n-n0 r3s3ts wh3n th3r3 1s n-n-n0 S0ul 0f d3t3rm1n4t10n.” Error lets his eyes go a bit wild. “G00dby3.”

Error tosses the Sans back to the corner he used to shortcut into the room and crushes the soul in his hands at the same time. The Sans shaped dust cloud hits the wall before sifting to the floor under the stairs. Before turning back to the little skele Error pulls his phone out and sends out a text. Nightmare quickly organizes the gang through text and Error knows someone will be showing up shortly so he pockets his phone before it is clearly said who would be coming. When he turns to the little skele he sees him pressed tightly to the wall hyperventilating trying to cover himself.

“1 j-j-just c0nt4ct3d th3 g4ng. W3’ll b3 b-b-b4ck t0 th3 h1d30ut 1n n-n-n0 t1m3.” Error pulls his jacket off and breaks the chain attaching the little skele to the wall before throwing it over him providing at least a bit of modesty, though he just cries harder. “1t w1ll b-b-b3 0k4y. Shh.”

Error very softly, not being able to physically do any more, lays a hand on the little skele’s shaking shoulder. He feels him cringe pressing his forehead harder against the ground and begin whimpering. It hits him hard when he recalls what this AU’s San had told him the whimpering meant and what the little skele probably thought is going on.

“Shh. 1 w0n’t hurt-t-t y0u. Just h4d t0 t4k3 st3ps 1nc4s3 h3 g0t h1s-s-s r3s3t. 1 w4s ly1ng 4b-b-b0ut hurt1ng y0u, 1 pr0m1s3.” Error assures and the whimpering quiets but doesn’t quite stop. “Y0u 4r3 4ll0w3d t-t-t0 sp34k n0w y0u kn0w… Wh4t’s wr0ng?”

“Error!?” Killer calls from upstairs. “Where are you!?”

“B00ksh3lv3s!” Error calls out, hesitantly pulling away from the little skele to help Killer find his way. “1t 1s cl34r-r-r!”

Before Error can get to the bottom of the stairs Killer is rushing down them only to stumble on the last one and run into the wall in his hurry. All of his excitement vanishes when he notices the little skele against the wall covered in Error’s jacket whimpering. Error looks over following Killer’s line of sight and lets his worry show when the little skele refuses to look up at the commotion. Shaking his shock off for the sake of the little skele Killer loudly walks over so he doesn’t surprise the little skele. When the little skele still only curls into himself further and continues to whimper Killer drapes an arm over the little skele’s back while taking his shoulder with the other hand.

“I’ve got you kiddo.” Killer speaks softly and the whimpering stops abruptly, like he is commanded to stop. “Can you sta… Hold on, your hands are still bound. Let me get you free.”

As if the little skele had not been able to keep up with what is going on, it isn’t until Killer has removed Error’s jacket and has his knife to the edge of one of the form fitting leather mitts that he seems to lose it. The little skele begins struggling to throw Killer off and growling fearfully. Killer quickly has his hand to the back of the little skele’s skull and has him lying flat so he can kneel on his back to keep him down so he can work. Still struggling hard the little skele keeps Killer from being steady enough to get his knife close without risking injury.

“K1ll3r, 3n0ugh! 1t’s t-t-t00 much str3ss r-r-r1ght n0w.” Error removes Killer bodily from the little skele who skitters to a corner to hide his arms. “T00 much tr-r-r4um4 t0 f0rc3 1t r1ght n0w. M4yb-b-be h3 w1ll c4lm d0wn b4ck 4t th3 h1d30ut.”

“Shit, sorry. I didn’t mean to.” Killer slowly approaches the little skele again when he is released from Error’s strings, this time offering up his own jacket to cover the little skele who is still not looking up from the floor. “I am going to pick you up now, okay? We can go home.”

The little skele goes complete still. Killer gets a bit worried but moves closer wrapping the little skele in his jacket. Not receiving a negative reaction to that, he places his arms around his back and under his legs for what he figures will be the most comfortable carry for now. Adjusting his grip, he feels the little skele nuzzle into his chest. Error reaches over before Killer can look down and pulls the hood over the little skele’s head for him to hide in.

“H3r3. 1 w1ll b-b-b3 r1ght b3h1nd y0u.” Error opens a portal for Killer. “H4v3 t0 st4rt 4 c0ll4ps3 n-n-n0w th4t 1t 1s 3mpty.”

Killer nods and hugs the little skele closer to him before stepping straight into the hideout living room where everyone else is anxiously waiting. Everyone moves to rush them the second the portal is closed behind Killer. Nightmare is quick to push everyone into seats and motion for all of them to remain quiet before they all start throwing questions at the little skele he knew is probably in shock. So when Nightmare feels pretty sure the others are going to behave he looks to Killer to start talking. Instead he just looks sadly down at the little skele unsure what to do or say.

“Start with the essentials.” Nightmare helps speaking quietly. “Is he hurt?”

“Didn’t see anything but his hands are covered so I couldn’t see there. He doesn’t have anything on under my jacket.” Killer wishes he hadn’t freaked the little skele out and then maybe Error would have been able to tell him more. “He panicked when I tried to free his hands, I don’t know why… He feels off… I couldn’t sense him before but now I definitely feel something.”

“Did you or Error do a check?” Nightmare watches Killer shake his head and looks to the unmoving bundle only able to see skeletal feet poking out at the bottom of Killer’s jacket. “Alright, let me take him and get him settled. Then we can see about everyone seeing him.”

“Can’t we just see him real quick?” Dust blurts as Nightmare takes the little skele from Killer making sure to keep him covered. “We need to see he is alive.”

“It is about what he needs right now Dust. I know everyone is worried but…” Nightmare looks down to make sure the little skele is secure in his grip when he notices him trying to peek out from under the hood. “Hold on… Can I pull the hood back? Just enough for them to see you.”

Nightmare feels the little skele’s breathing changing and quickly uses his tentacles to further hide him from the others not knowing exactly what is setting him off. The others get frustrated, Nightmare feels it, but they do not push the subject knowing it would be selfish if the little skele isn’t ready. Quickly removing the little skele from the room Nightmare gets a look at him on the way to the little skele’s room, his eye lights are gone and he is indeed hyperventilating. Getting him into his bed Nightmare keeps him on his side so he is not laying on his bound hands.

It takes a while to get him calmed back down enough to unwrap the jacket and although he is dirty there are no significant injuries. His patella, shins, and the top of his feet were worn like he had spent a good deal of time kneeling on a rough surface. Breaking the chain binding his hands together, Nightmare can get a look at the little skele’s back. The injuries are older and had they had the necessary treatment, magic, food, and rest would be healed fully. Several layers seem to be rubbed off right below his scapula and at his illium. All of it is easy to tend to and seems to have a soothing effect on the little skele who seems to be drifting off on Nightmare as he treats and washes the little skele’s bones. Though he notices a bit more damage that he treats on the little skele’s left leg like something was forced between the bones. All that is left are the leather mitts but even now every time Nightmare gets close to them the little skele lets out a low growl before devolving into whimpers.

“I have to remove them.” Nightmare lays the little skele back on his pillows as he shakes his head looking at him terrified. “Why?”

The little skele just shakes his head harder closing his eyes holding back tears even though the evidence of earlier’s tears are still on his face. Nightmare pulls the blanket up over the little skele’s lower half carefully watching to make sure it doesn’t trigger anything negative. Watching him carefully he uses his tentacles to readjust the little skele’s arms at his sides, discreetly sharpening his tentacles Nightmare cuts the leather. As soon as the cool air hits the bone under the leather the little skele loses it for the second time today; thrashing, growling, whimpering, keening, crying.

“Calm down. You are fine. Stop before you hurt yourself.” Nightmare feels the anxious energy of the others gather at the door, the little skele is not being quiet anymore and he has no choice but to restrain him. “You need to calm down you…”

CHECK

-pet-

HP 8/10

LV 1

EXP 0

ATK 0

DEF -

FALLING APART

Not strong enough

No place, didn’t hang on

-

In the time it took for Nightmare to read through the check the little skele’s struggling has caused his HP to fall from 8 to 7. Then Nightmare gets a look at what the leather mitts were hiding. The little skele’s hands are crushed; every bone shattered in his hand while the radius and ulna are only shattered half way up. Realizing he is not going to be able to calm the little skele down and there is no possible way to get a drug into his system in this state, Nightmare goes with his only other option.

“Shh, sleep, shh…” Nightmare places his forehead to the little skele forcing him to quickly slip into sleep still shedding tears and panting from exertion. “That’s it, sleep tight.”

Nightmare opened the door as he thought of what he is going to do. He couldn’t leave the little skele in this type of sleep for too long especially in his mental state without risking him never waking again. A couple days at most but nowhere near long enough for an injury like this to even begin to set. It is beyond their capabilities and they had just caused too much of a ruckus to go back out to get a doctor skilled enough to deal with something like this.

“Shit…” Dust breathes seeing the little skele’s hands.

“We need Blue.” Fresh looks to Nightmare who has already come to the conclusion as well even though he is thinking hard to avoid it. “He’s good at healing and…”

“I know.” Nightmare sighs. “We will get him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Kidnapping, abuse, held against will, bound, severe injury, forced submission, conditioning, death
> 
> I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't think you would get attached like that!


	38. Chapter 38

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at bottom
> 
> Day Count- 60-61

“Wh4t-t-t h4v3 y0u f0und?” Error comes quietly into the little skele’s room, only Nightmare is still awake at this late hour and it is as soon as Error could make it. “H0w 1s-s-s h3?”

“Came to the conclusion we need to call in Blue.” Nightmare motions for Error to come over. “His Soul is… Take a look, he is out, he won’t wake.”

Stepping next to the bed Error notices Nightmare keeping a tentacle around the little skele’s braced wrist, he’ll have to ask about the braces later. Gently he draws the little skele’s Soul from his chest, a bit concerned there is absolutely no reaction to that. Though that is quickly forgotten when he sees the Soul. It is marred with what looks like the burns you would see from someone struck by natural lightning but this is black lines blooming from the bottom highlighted in red. Error looks questioningly at Nightmare.

“Never seen anything like it.” Nightmare shakes his head. “Couldn’t ask him much before I cut his hands free and he had a meltdown. Completely shattered starting from about half way down his ulna and radius.”

“Y0u f0rc3d h1m t0 sl33p.” Error realizes and takes the Soul to examine it a little closer. “N0t cr-r-r4cks. R3s1du4l m4g1c. H1s-s-s m4g1c 1s d4ng3r0usly r3pr3ss3d… F0und-d-d th3 tr41n1ng m4nu4l h3 k3pt. N0t g01n-n-ng t0 l1k3 1t.”

“Should I read it or just get the cliff notes from you?” Nightmare knew if Error thought it was bad, it would definitely rile him up with the little skele already in this state. “We will have Blue try healing on that as well.”

“R34d 1t, y0u w-w-w1ll pr0b4bly n33d t0 kn0w… 1f wh4t 1 r34d-d-d 1s tru3, th1s 1s th3 r3sult 0f th3 4b0m1n4t10n-n-ns sp3c14lty m4g1c.” Error returns the Soul to the little skele’s ribcage. “3m0t10n-n-n m4n1pul4t10n. N0t t0 th3 d3gr33 0f-f-f y0u 0r Dr34m, h4s c0nd1t10ns t0 w0r-r-rk… Y0u c4n-n-n b3 pr0ud, h3 r0y4lly p1ss3d th3 4b0m1n4t10n 0ff. 4pp4r3ntly h3 b-b-b1t3s… s4w h1m b1te h1m, w4s 4 g00d d1str4ct10n-n-n t0 gr4b h1s S0ul.”

“You can leave the book on the side table.” Nightmare looks around making sure all the sleeping skeletons are comfortable and tucked in. “I have a favor…”

“Blu3?” Error looks around the room following Nightmares path. “Pr0b4bly w-w-w0n’t b3 b4ck t1ll m0rn1ng.”

“I can keep him asleep maybe thirty-eight more hours.” Nightmare runs a hand over the little skele’s skull. “Does the book mention this?”

“4 c0ll4r.” Error clarifies as Nightmare lifts the little skele’s chin to expose the collar and it surprises Error how different the gesture is from earlier. “Y34h, n-n-n4sty, 1ll3g4l, p0w3rful but n0 1nstruct10ns 0n 1t.”

“Make sure you make it clear to Blue he owes this skeleton.” Nightmare lowers his voice dangerously. “He was part of the attack that got him lost.”

“W3 w1ll b3 b4ck by m0rn-n-n1ng.” Error removes Fresh’s skewed glasses and lays them next to the skeleton as he heads for the door. “s33 y0u s00n.”

\----------61

Nightmare still kept up the pretense in front of Blue, so as soon as everyone starts waking they are sent out of the room. He is propped up next to the little skele making notes to give to Blue from the book he has almost ripped apart in his rage several times. Maybe they could let that AU reset just to tear it down again. A knock on the door breaks him from that thought and he barely has time to get off the bed as Blue opens the door. He stands in the door waiting for permission to enter, and he did not miss the fact that Nightmare had been on the bed.

“Who is hurt?” Blue controls his volume knowing there is a patient close by. “Horror is in the kitchen and Cross is in the living room playing video games with Fresh. Is it Dust or Killer?”

“No. Enter.” Nightmare remains in rescuing distance of the little skele lying on the bed but leaves room for Blue to come get a look at him. “How much did Error fill you in on?”

“Just that you have a very injured skeleton, Soul and body.” Blue crosses his arms not liking Nightmare’s bravado when he is here to help. “Said the injuries were tied to our last fight over two weeks ago. Injuries should not be left for that long, you should have called me sooner.”

“Watch yourself.” Nightmare warns but Blue looks unimpressed. “Just see what you can do… His hands and Soul are damaged… and he has a collar.”

Blue walks to the edge of the bed to take a look at a skeleton he has never seen before. He is a bit ashamed that his first thought is that he is bigger than the small body lying lifelessly on the bed clothed only in bandages, though he is given the modesty of a blanket pulled over his pelvis. Taking great care Blue unwraps the little skele’s closest arm and may have gone a bit green at the damage, it is obviously intentional. Damage like that is going to take multiple healing applications and he isn’t sure if they would ever be properly usable again.

“What’s with the other bandages?” Blue rewraps the hand; it will keep it in shape so he won’t have to expend extra energy dealing with that. “And I need his permission to pull out his Soul so I can see what I am dealing with.”

“Not waking him until it is a must. You may take it out for the purpose of healing.” Nightmare glares at Blue’s back. “He has several abrasions that will heal up just fine on their own and thus not your concern.”

“I am not touching anyone’s Soul without their permission.” Blue looks back at Nightmare completely deadpan. “And I can’t start healing his hands if certain types of damage have been done to his Soul… it can cause magic poisoning.”

“If you won’t do it I will just get one of the others in here to do it.” Nightmare pretends to head to the door when Blue huffs. “Still have a problem.”

“Yes, many but when he wakes I am informing him.” Blue takes a deep breath watching the little skele for several moments before pulling out his Soul and gets angry letting it go to float above the sleeping figure. “What did you do!? How did this happen!?”

“Watch your tone and who you accuse of such atrocities.” Nightmare keeps his voice dangerously even as he lifts Blue off the ground by the front of his shirt, the other knew better than to accuse him of hurting his boys. “One of yours did this.”

“Pl4y n1ce.” Error calls from down the hall. “B-b-b0th 0f y0u.”

Nightmare releases his hold on Blue, letting him fall to the ground onto his tailbone. Rubbing his backside as he gets back up Blue knows the type of damage and can heal around it, although the damage itself can only be healed by time. Any healing magic put into the Soul would only strengthen the remnant magic and make it last longer. It shouldn’t be painful but would leave the soul feeling heavy and foreign for a while.

“Someone forced their own will on him.” Blue states not very happily. “Are they still at large?”

“What do you think?” Nightmare gives a withering look for the stupid question. “What do you know about the collar?”

Blue climbs up on the bed so he can be seated for the healing, it would take a bit of time and a lot of energy. Being extremely careful he brings the hands closer together so he can focus his magic instead of spreading it out where it could leak into the little skele’s Soul, which in normal circumstances wouldn’t be so bad. After he gets started he is able to split his focus to look at the collar Nightmare mentioned but it isn’t one he has ever seen before. It just looked like one solid piece of fabric sitting flush around the one vertebra.

“Sorry, I have never seen that kind of collar…” Blue thinks for a minute. “I might know someone who can get it off but I would have to take him to their universe.”

“And what makes you think I would allow that?” Nightmare knew he could trust Blue to take care of the little skele but that is while he kept an eye on things and now he wanted to involve more people. “Someone from your side put it on him.”

“I am here because I have accepted that both of our sides are necessary to maintain balance. I risk being locked into my universe every time I even think about you guys.” Blue is careful not to let his emotions influence his magic. “I am taking a risk helping you. So I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t blame me for the screw ups of others… Now it is going to take me about an hour to do this first application of healing, yes it is going to take more than one session, no I cannot guarantee anything. So what I need to know is if you are going to figure out the collar or if I need to make plans and accommodations for this Sans.”

“He doesn’t answer to that.” Nightmare leaves it at that and drops all conversation to contemplate all of his options, walking into the hall where he can still listen to what is going on in the room. “Boys…”

\----------

“So, Killer is my contact in case of emergency or if I have any questions about this skeleton. I am also to make at least one report a day assuring his safety.” Blue continues to stretch after sitting still for an hour. “I promise to take responsibility for his return and not to try to dig into his universe of origin.”

“I need to wake him and explain to him what is going on.” Nightmare shoos him away from the bed and while Blue’s back is turned, runs a hand over the little skele’s skull to remove his magic. “Easy, your hands are wrapped, just slowly… there you go.”

Nightmare lets the little skele move a bit to help wake up but keeps an eye out for any signs that he is about to go back into the meltdown he did last night. Instead, the little skele suddenly freezes as his sights land on Blue. The little skele manages to raise up on his elbows before Nightmare can force him back down with a firm but gentle hand on his sternum. It causes the little skele to jerk his sockets back to Nightmare for answers.

“I need you to listen to me very carefully. Can you do that?” Nightmare watches his eye lights flick over to Blue before they return to him and he gets a nod. “Good. First and foremost, you are mine. Got it… Good. You remember that no one here is able to use healing magic? Blue can, and he has already done one application but it is going to take more. You know that something is wrong with your Soul, okay it isn’t too bad but it is going to feel odd for a while until it heals, no, healing magic won’t help with this… Lastly, the collar. Blue thinks he knows someone who can remove it but they cannot come here… and we can’t go with you to get it removed.”

The little skele’s sudden growl causes Blue to jump and spin around to see where it had come from. Nightmare just looks sternly at the little skele and it isn’t until the whimpering starts that he remembers what Error had told him about the growling and whimpering meaning something different than what he is used to with the others. Softening his expression Nightmare helps the little skele to sit up against the headboard.

“Error trusts that Blue will not take you anywhere that you cannot be protected. It is important to get these things tended to as quickly as possible to minimize any permanent side effects. Here, we found your phone so we can track wherever you go. Keep it in the storage function instead of your pocket for now.” Nightmare shows him how, and realized something else and quickly grabs clothes from the dresser. “You are mine, and you will return to me. Do you understand? Good… Let us get you dressed and Blue will take you to see the others before you leave. We are not giving you away.”

Blue turns back around to let the little skele get dressed without an audience. Without the use of his hands, the little skele can only try not to be difficult for Nightmare. With the assistance of tentacles, Nightmare makes quick work of dressing the little skele in basketball shorts, one of his plain sleeveless tees, and with one of the soft slightly oversized sweaters in a dark gray color. Dust had managed to find some shoes with elastic instead of laces for the little skele so socks and shoes are easily slipped on as well but Nightmare won’t let the little skele up.

“Blue.” Nightmare looks over to said skeleton rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. “Want to introduce yourself.”

“Definitely! I am the magnificent Blue! Mweheheh!” In his excitement, Blue doesn’t completely control his volume but isn’t quite shouting. “I am going to be in charge of your healing and getting you to someone who can remove that collar as your dad has already told you!” Blue winks at the little skele as his comment goes unnoticed for the moment. “I also wanted to let you know that I had to take your Soul out earlier while you were unconscious so I could evaluate your condition! I hope you do not mind.”

The little skele had leaned into Nightmare at the start of the loud introduction. Only the last sentence had been toned down to a reasonable volume. Unsure of what exactly he is supposed to do at this point the little skele simply nods to Blue hoping that conveyed the acceptance of the introduction and that he didn’t mind about his Soul, it isn’t as if he is trying to hide it from anyone. Blue puts his hand to his chin like he is thinking hard about something.

“I think a koala carry would be best.” Blue nods to himself and moves forward. “May I pick you up?”

The little skele looks to Nightmare again still not wanting to really go with this new Sans that he is pretty sure was fighting alongside the Star Sanses last he remembered. Nightmare motions with a nod of his head for the little skele to go with Blue who pulls him from the bed. Blue is smaller than anyone else in the gang but apparently strong, he easily held the little skele to him. Unsure the little skele wraps his arms loosely around Blue’s neck and lays his chin on his shoulder while his feet wrap around his middle to keep from tripping the other up. Nightmare feels a bit of a pang at the sad look the little skele is aiming his way.

“Blue will bring you back soon.” Nightmare assures not moving to follow as Blue heads for the door. “You will be well taken care of.”

“Yes, yes. I am a responsible monster that can take care of another person.” Blue grins hugely. “Let’s go see the others before your dad decides to give me a color coded schedule for…”

“BLUE!” Nightmare caught the title this time and Blue takes off for the living room.

“What did you do now?” Cross asks as Blue jogs into the living room, the little skele holding as tightly as he can to him. “He isn’t used to being carried; you shouldn’t run with him unless you have to.”

“Whoops, sorry about that.” Blue gently rubs the little skele’s back to settle him. “I will be more careful.”

“We will see you soon.” Killer rubs the top of the little skele’s head. “We will work on some carving when you get back.”

“I will have a feast prepared for you.” Horror assures. “Make sure you eat well.”

“You will be back before you know it.” Dust smiles softly at the little skele trying not to look like he is about to burst into tears.

“I’ll be waiting for you here little dude.” Fresh speaks quietly then looks to the others. “The others said it is okay already.”

“Take care.” Cross hugs the little skele carefully, remembering the bandages.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings; discussion of injuries/abuse, and non-con confinement.
> 
> So, I guess I am going to call this next cluster of chapters an arch, collar removal. It will have a special day counter: Total days (days in recovery).


	39. Chapter 39

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at bottom
> 
> Day Count- 61 (1)
> 
> Heads up for those that need it, I will try to have this on every chapter for awhile. Our little skele is not doing good. So at least until the day count falls back to just one count be aware of possible hard topics like injuries, panic/anxiety attacks, dissociation, mentions of severe abuse, and other things that could be associated with a recovering kidnap victim. Please consume content safely.

“Alright, I just have to make a quick stop at my house and then we will head out to see about that collar.” Blue explains walking up to a familiar front door but something is slightly different. “I am going to sit you on the couch while I run up to my room, okay?”

Since there really isn’t a choice in the matter the little skele assumes it really isn’t a question and lets Blue do what he wants with him. Sitting in the middle of the couch the little skele just lays his useless arms in his lap. After watching Blue race up the stairs the little skele just looks down at his feet as he slightly kicks them squirming a bit at the feel of wearing clothes again. Lifting his hand to his face he loses himself to the feel of softness he can only feel on his humerous and now his cheek.

“Well hello there.” A Papyrus wearing an orange hoodie slouches onto the couch next to the little skeleton. “Who are you?”

Panicking, the little skele jumps off the couch and trips over his own feet landing on his tailbone since he can’t use his hands to catch himself. The Papyrus is quickly kneeling down in front of the little skele in worry. Bringing his knees up closer to his chest the little skele raises his hands to block his face as he whimpers.

“Hey, hey, easy there, I didn’t mean to rattle your bones like that.” The Papyrus scoops the little skele up and hastily sets him back further on the couch. “You’re my brother’s friend, right? Blue brought you here?”

“PAPY! YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE AT YOUR STATION.” Blue calls from the rail at the top of the stairs. “WHY ARE YOU SCARING MY GUEST?”

“Just on break, bro.” The Papyrus looks up to his brother and stands. “How long is our guest staying?”

“I JUST NEEDED TO GRAB A FEW THINGS.” Blue comes down the stairs with a small bag. “DID YOU LEAVE THE CODES FOR THE MACHINE WHERE THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE?”

“Yep, right next to the console. I only lost them once.” The Papyrus accepts a hug from his brother. “So, what’s our guests story? Do you need my help with anything? And maybe use your inside voice, he seems skittish.”

“Right. I was asked to heal him; his hands are in bad shape.” Blue explains shooting the little skele an apologetic look as the Papyrus moves to sit next to him. “I am taking him to see Red because I don’t know much about collars, and his seems really strong.”

“Blue you know how I feel about you going to dangerous AUs.” The Papyrus sighs in disappointment. “I thought the others were going to be more responsible from now on…”

“No, Papy, I didn’t go to a dangerous AU, I told you I wouldn’t.” Blue crosses his arms and pouts at the accusation. “I was just called to help with the healing and making sure he gets the help he needs.”

“Oh, so the magic drain is from a healing session, not fighting.” The Papyrus perks up apparently happy about the revelation. “Sorry bro, you know I just worry… So, do you have to leave now or…”

“Since you are on your break I will warm up some tacos. What kind of host doesn’t feed his guest as well?” Blue sets his bag down next to the couch. “Here you can watch some Napstaton while I cook. Papy, can you help me in the kitchen.”

Papy gives Blue a curious look before getting to his feet and putting his hands in his hoodie’s pocket. The little skele watches the brothers walk away into the kitchen and after making sure they aren’t about to come right back in looks to the odd performer on the TV. Blue peeks out of the kitchen to make sure the little skele is staying put before he sets to warming up some left over tacos.

“He was being kept and trained as a pet.” Blue speaks quietly not wanting his voice to leave the kitchen. “If I understand correctly he doesn’t have anywhere to return to, doesn’t respond to his own name, and is for the most part nonverbal, possibly because of the collar… Someone has already volunteered to take him in but their verse is not very good at healing and has not ever dealt with collars.”

“Not well versed in taking care of someone in his condition then.” Papy gets a glare for his pun but he just grins and pops a sucker in his mouth. “Guess he won’t be able to taco ‘bout it over lunch.”

“NOOO! NO PUNS IN THE KITCHEN!” Blue yells, as his brother falls into a fit of laughter. “THE KITCHEN IS FOR SERIOUS BUSINESS!”

Papy puts his hands up in surrender and turns to go back into the living room. Stepping in he finds the little skele sitting cross legged on the floor, arms laying on the table with his chin, and sockets locked on the TV. Napstaton is just standing behind a turntable with chaotic colors flaring up all around him. He wonders if the little skele is just fascinated by the colors or if he is actually enjoying the repetitive noise the robot is making.

“You a Napstaton fan?” Papy asks and notices the slight flinch from the little skele before he looks back at him. “Guess I should have knocked first… So, ever seen Napstaton before?”

Pulling his hands from the table and carefully placing them in his lap the little skele turns to face the Papyrus. Then he shakes his head that ‘no, he hasn’t ever seen this Napstaton character before’. Papy thinks about that for a minute studying the little skele politely waiting for the conversation to continue.

“So, a Metaton fan then?” Papy gets another shake of the head from the little skele, and he figures the little skele does look young still, maybe a robot hasn’t been created in his AU yet. “Well, I guess I should do the polite thing and introduce myself. I go by the nickname Honey.”

As if to reiterate it, Honey, pulls out a bear shaped bottle filled with some kind of goldish looking liquid and drinks from it. Watching the little skele for his reaction he almost does a spit take as the little skele tilts his head in confusion at him and just looks at the bottle. Quickly shaking his head of the thoughts of how adorable looking that was Honey wipes his teeth on his sleeve. Sitting forward he shoots a quick glance to the kitchen doorway and then shows the bottle to the curious little skele.

“It’s honey, ever had it?” Honey watches the skele think and then shrug his shoulders. “Hold on. I think I have something in my inventory you can try.”

“No ruining your appetites.” Blue walks in with a platter of tacos and plates. “Papy, do not corrupt our guest.”

“Sorry bro. I will let you try one of Muffet’s treats after you eat.” Honey closes his inventory. “It will be worth it.”

“Oops, guess we did not really think this through, did we?” Blue sets a plate next to the little skele. “Do you mind if I, um, well if I help you eat?”

The little skele just shrugs his shoulders and turns himself back to the coffee table, noticing his tacos are topped how he likes them. Blue sits next to the little skele on the floor and helps him to eat finding himself more embarrassed by the situation than the skeleton being fed. Honey decides to find the whole thing amusing and waits for the little skele to finish two tacos before offering the treat again. Although Blue does lecture a bit about not indulging in too many sweets he doesn’t stop Honey from feeding the little skele three types of sweetened pastries.

“Alright, Papy, you need to get back to your station. Your lunch break is probably over.” Blue cleans up all the dishes as Honey puts a sucker in his mouth and seems to be trying to get comfy on the couch. “I need to take our guest to see Red now.”

“Let me send you guys off and I will head out.” Honey stand up stretching his arms above his head. “Come here, I’ll carry you downstairs.”

The little skele lets out a small growl as he scoots away from Honey’s reaching hands. Honey looks at the little skele with a mixture of confusion and disappointment as the other tries to get to his feet. Blue returns and quickly rushes over to pick up the little skele causing him to give another growl of discontentment.

“Do not worry, Papy, he is just saying he does not like being picked up but he should not be walking around just yet.” Blue explains when he sees his brother grow concerned as the little skele wraps his arms around Blues neck. “As soon as you send us off you have to finish your shift. I left plenty of leftovers in the fridge for you so you do not have to go to Muffet’s after.”

“Sure thing bro.” Honey shrugs and leads the way down to the lab. “You’re the best.”

When they get down there, Honey heads straight to the machine and starts typing at the monitor. Blue moves around the lab as soon as he realizes the little skele is looking around interested in all the gadgets around the room. In just a few minutes Honey has the machine going and a white light fills the archway of the machine.

“Oh, here, Red said we need to stop showing up in such colorful outfits.” Honey throws a half folded blanket around the smaller skeletons and hears another growl. “You might not be brightly colored but you aren’t in stripes either.”

“I won’t hold it tightly and as soon as I can I will get it off you.” Blue assures rubbing the little skele’s back as he whimpers but still takes the end of the blanket to hold it closed over them. “It’s a short walk to the front door from their shed.”

The brothers exchange goodbyes and Blue rushes through the machine. His feet hit wood floor as he takes the familiar steps over to the door. After one more check to make sure the little skele is covered by the blanket more for warmth than hiding Blue cracks the door open to make sure the coast is clear. Then walks confidently over to the front door and knocks loudly. He hears a few curses, some laughter, a loud thump like something fell, louder laughter, and then heavy steps coming to the door.

“What!?” Red growls throwing open the door and then looks suspiciously down at Blue. “Oh, heya, baby Blue, what’re ya doin’ ‘ere?”

Red looks around the area behind Blue and rethinks the whole talking with his front door standing wide open. He grabs a handful of cloth and tugs Blue into the house still watching outside for any trouble as he slams the door, throwing the locks back into place. Blue stumbles in clutching the little skele tightly to him not having expected being thrown inside. The little skele squirms around feeling the warmth of walls back around them and wanting to see what is going on.

“Uh, excited there, Blue?” Another Sans sat on the couch looking curiously at the bulge moving under the blanket Blue had over himself. “Need help.”

“Oh, hey Comic, I didn’t think you would be here.” Blue sets the little skele on his feet so he can fold the blanket. “Sorry for the unannounced visit Red. It is kind of urgent though.”

“Where did you get a kid?” Comic watches the little skele tuck closer to Blue. “Why did you bring him to a Fell verse. I mean I know Red’s is considerably safer than most but…”

“Hey pipsqueak…” Red leans over to be face to face with the new little skele but then he is gone. “What da…”

The little skele has his hands behind his back and is leaning with his back to the wall staring directly at Red’s gold tooth. Everyone in the room has gone still from the reaction. Even from the couch where he is the furthest from the little skele, Comic can hear the clattering of rattling bone. Red instantly doesn’t like the terror being directed at him, reminds him too much of the ones he judged in the judgment hall. So it is Blue who makes the first move towards the little skele to attempt to calm him down. Too afraid to pull his eye lights from the gold the little skele only sees the movement at the edge of his vision and growls out a warning.

“I don’t think so.” Red snarls red magic billowing from his socket. “Who da ya think ya are?”

An actual snarl rolls past Red’s teeth in real threat as he takes a step forward. The little skele’s world goes completely fuzzy and he submissively drops to his knees, hard enough for an audible crack to resound through the room. Then although he can’t see it through his haze he turns his gaze to the floor and exposes his neck making sure the collar is visible. It takes him several attempts to make his whimpering audible.

“Ya brought some’nes pet inta my house!” Red turns his anger on Blue. “Wha’ were ya thinkin’!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: possible dissociation, mention of kidnap and conditioning, pushing bounds of a light phobia (blanket over little skele, which he doesn't like), panic and anxiety, aggressive behavior (Red is the product of his AU)  
> I do not mind being told I need to add more to warnings or anything like that. If I can improve please let me know.
> 
> So who guessed this is where we would be going?
> 
> Almost forgot Merry Giftmas and Happy Holidays


	40. Chapter 40

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at bottom
> 
> Day Count- 61 (1)
> 
> Heads up for those that need it, I will try to have this on every chapter for awhile. Our little skele is not doing good. So at least until the day count falls back to just one count be aware of possible hard topics like injuries, panic/anxiety attacks, dissociation, mentions of severe abuse, and other things that could be associated with a recovering kidnap victim. Please consume content safely.

Comic watches the little skele bring his shoulders up preparing for the blow he expected someone to deliver. The little skele is hyperventilating and obviously holding himself in a very uncomfortable if not painful way. It is too hard for Comic to continue to watch as Red stares down Blue who is stumbling over his words to explain. So he moves to kneel in front of the little skele and taps the ground where it seems the little skele is staring.

“Hey, we aren’t going to hit you. Can you look at me?” Comic speaks softly but the little skele flinches hard half turning from him squeezing his sockets shut. “Shh, you are okay.”

“Comic! Don’ get close ta ‘im.” Red grabs Comics shoulder to pull him back and the little skele straightens back out going still. “Yer da last one dat needs ta get close. Wha’ if he lashes out?”

“HE IS JUST UNABLE TO TALK!” Blue finally bursts out. “HE IS JUST SCARED AND SAYING HE DIDN’T LIKE ME GETTING CLOSE. NOT I WILL ATTACK IF YOU GET CLOSE! He was only rescued yesterday. I didn’t know who else to ask about that collar.”

“How long was he kept?” Red doesn’t take his eyes from the little skele still waiting for him to lash out. “Wha’ AU?”

“I don’t know the AU but two weeks give or take a few days.” Blue answers noticing the little skele swaying a bit. “I can try sending a couple messages to see if I can figure it out but let’s calm him down first, please.”

Comic goes to reach for the little skele but feels a tug on his jacket and looks back to Red glaring as he gives a shake of his head. With a huff of annoyance, he taps the ground again to get the little skele’s attention and hesitantly the sockets open looking to the hand that is tapping the ground. The eye lights are barely there and the little skele is hardly holding himself up.

“Hey, you need to breathe. Can you do that for me bud? Come on… In… out…” Comic brings his hand up curling his fingers when he says in and uncurling with the out; the little skele follows along but still sits stiffly. “That’s it… Did Red scare you? He look like someone else… alright, you don’t have to answer… He has a mean looking face but he’s okay.”

“Oye!” Red barks offended.

“Hush.” Comic orders when the little skele looks back to the floor prepared for a blow. “Look, I am between you and him… woah…”

The realization causes the eye lights in the little skele’s sockets to flash. Red goes to jerk Comic back and form a sharp bone when he sees the little skele move. He stops when he realizes what the little skele is doing, getting Comic out of what he thought is the line of fire. Comic is not very happy to be jerked onto his back side but notices the little skele now half bowed staring at Red’s feet still looking scared but also firm.

“Alright, I’ll give ‘em points fer dat.” Red released Comic and grins. “Boss will have ta determine if we can do anythin’ ‘bout da collar.”

“Thanks for dumping me on my ass Red.” Comic straightens his jacket and sits back up. “What are you handing out points for.”

“Ya offered ‘im protection and he refused when he realized dat it meant puttin’ ya in harm’s way.” Red watches the little skele shaking in front of him and scratches at the back of his skull. “Kid, come on, sit up… I ain’t gonna hurt ya… I need ya ta look at me.”

“MafiaFell AU.” Blue blurts as soon as the message comes through. “That’s who had him.”

“Explains da reaction ta seein’ my gorgeous visage.” Red looks back to the little skele who is now focusing very hard on a spot over his shoulder. “Nah, at my face. I need ya to see I ain’t ‘im.”

Red is careful to keep a neutral look on his face as he watches the little skele’s eye lights dart from his face to anywhere else several times never staying long enough to take in details. Letting out a deep breath Red sits on the floor next to Comic. Then brings his hand up between their faces quickly and snaps his fingers loudly. Although this causes the little skele to stop breathing his eye lights focus directly onto Red’s face. The realization of the differences comes almost instantly but the fear hasn’t faded.

“Good… Now answer, are ya gonna hurt anyone?” Red knows the other is trying to be still but can see the minute shake of the head. “Then ya won’ be hurt by us… Can ya point ta what set ya off?”

Slowly the little skele brings his arms back in front of him but is still staring directly at Red’s face cautious of any sign of danger. The tapping on the floor makes him flinch and freeze until he notices Comic’s hand. It is opening and closing reminding him to take in some steady breaths as he brings his hand up to tap his own teeth not daring to gesture at Red.

“My gold tooth.” Red chuckles touching his tooth. “Well, dere are lots a Fell skeletons wit’ gold in dere mouths… Now, can ya sit back off yer knees.”

Bracing his back against the wall the little skele manages to get his right leg out from under himself and lift himself off the floor to slide out his left. Too tired to really catch himself he lets himself fall back to the floor with a thump and lets his head slump forward. If punishment is going to come what did it really matter if he saw it coming. What could they do to top the pain he is currently in? His Soul doesn’t even feel like his own.

“Here, lay over here.” Comic moved to sit next to the little skele against the wall and offers his lap. “You can close your eyes and… Hey!”

“Nah, yer my pillow.” Red slung Comic over his shoulder and tosses him on the couch as he grabs the blanket Blue had folded up. “Here, I’ll go…”

The little skele has already laid down on the ground and is falling asleep. Curled up as small as he could be in his condition. Rolling his eyes at the little skele, Red walks over and drops the blanket on him receiving a whimper from under the blanket. Moving just enough to uncover his sockets the little skele looks up at Red, he is exhausted.

“Ya could ‘ave at least waited for a blanket and pillow. I ain’t cruel ya know.” Red watches as the little skele just kind of curls around the blanket and lays his head on it off the floor. “Not gettin’ better dan dat am I?”

“You could have offered him the end of the couch. Oof.” Comic puts an arm around Red when Red falls half into his lap wrapping his arms around his middle. “We aren’t using it all and he doesn’t take up much room.”

“Pets are taught not to be on furniture, I didn’t wanna set ‘im off ‘gain.” Red cuddles into Comic. “Ya saw him. He is tryin’ ta sleep on da bare floor. Surprised he took da blanket ta be honest wit’ ya. So, Blue, wanna share some info wit’ us? He’s prolly sleepin’ by now, pretty sure he was dozin’ when I dropped da blanket on him. Sit down.”

\----------

“SANS! Oh, Red, I thought I said no more parties.” A sharp looking Papyrus walks in the front door, quickly closing and locking it behind him. “Comic, Blue, will you be staying for… Red, why do we have a skeleton passed out on the floor.”

Red mumbles incoherently into Comic’s jacket as he attempts to fall back asleep now that he knows it is his brother bashing in the door and not some intruder. With no tolerance for drunken misconduct the Papyrus marches across the room before anyone realizes what he is doing. The little skele on the floor hugging a folded blanket gives no indication he notices anyone approaching. It isn’t until the Papyrus has him grabbed under the arms and lifted into the air to be socket level that he gives out a startled growl.

“Oh shit.” Red sits up turning to his brother. “Boss! He…”

“Oh, hush, you are fine. That is a stupid thing to teach, growl for don’t like that, tsch.” The Papyrus continues to examine the little skele who gives out a slight whimper. “No need, I did jerk you up out of sleep quite rudely, half expected you to take a chance to bite me about half way up… Why does he have such a highly illegal collar on?”

“He’s a rescue. Blue brought ‘im over.” Red answers watching his brother interact with the little skele skeptically. “Figured if any’ne be able ta get it off it’d be ya, Boss.”

“I will have to get permission first. It will take several days at least. You have to take ownership of the collar before anything else.” Papyrus pulls the little skele in to sit in his arms as he walks to the kitchen. “I need to get a better look at it…. I need you to sit on the table and look up so I can examine this collar.”

Reluctantly the little skele sits where he is placed on the table and then looks up to the ceiling yawning hugely. He has to keep reminding himself not to kick his feet as the Papyrus sits in a chair right in front of him where he can easily examine the collar. Two bodies shortcut into the chairs across the table and the Papyrus scowls at them before staring back at the little skele that didn’t even seem to flinch at that. The gang had worn that startled reflex out of him within a week.

“It feels like it has been pumped full of someone else’s magic that I will have to overwrite. These collars are meant for boss level monsters… Red, what kind of triggers have you seen so far.” Papyrus continues running his phalanges over and around the collar as he talks. “If he needs re-training I need to know what I… They really did do a poor job training you didn’t they. They never broke you in. What did you do, survive?”

“What do you mean?” Comic asks curious as he lays his head down on his folded arms. “He had a full on break down with Red earlier.”

“Shh, don’…” Red notices his brother’s eyes already on him. “It was jus’ a misunderstandin’ after he freaked because of da gold tooth.”

“His growling is supposedly only meant as ‘I do not like’ and then he whimpers to apologize.” Blue explains hoping to avoid that misunderstanding again. “Can you understand him, Fell, when…?”

“No, not really understand but it is quite obvious what he meant. You have to take in everything with that kind of behavior and his body language and lack of certain outwardly visible signs of aggression it was clear what was going on.” Fell holds his fingers to the collar. “This isn’t going to feel too good but it is probably best I start flooding the collar out.”

Before Fell can put any magic into the collar the little skele has brought his covered hands up to guard his throat and places his foot on Fell’s humerous to push it away from the collar. Annoyed at the antic Fell looks up at the little skele’s face full of defiance. The other skeletons in the room freeze not sure what to worry about just yet but knowing the standoff is going to result in something. Fell moves his arm experimentally and grins.

“You sure I can’t convince you to permanently switch your ownership to me.” Fell chuckles when the little skele just chuffs at him. “Hmm, so I guess I should stop talking around you then. My apologies for mis-categorizing you. As I said earlier, this collar’s owner, never broke you but you let him think he did… That is impressive but now you need to work with me. You didn’t get through unscathed so we will be understanding of that. Now, the collar, you can feel it repressing your magic can’t you…? The only one who can remove it is the owner of the collar. I have to put a claim on it, not you. May I?”

The little skele is about to fall into another panic attack when he remembers what Nightmare had assured him before letting Blue take him. Nightmare would never allow another to take what is his. Glancing around to make sure no one is going to make him do anything the little skele removes his foot from Fell’s arm and watches to make sure he doesn’t move to force him to comply.

“If you would lift your chin, I will take that as permission.” Fell watches the other’s chin raise slightly but his eye lights stay on his hands and when he touches the collar his hands come back up to lay on his arm. “Alright, this will be uncomfortable like I said before but it will only be a moment… Red, go get the first aid kit so we can redo his bandages.”

“Wha’? Shit.” Red knows he’s in for it now, he recalls the sound the little skele’s knees made hitting the floor earlier. “‘Kay be righ’ back.”

“Dammit.” Fell curses as he jerks his fingers back and the little skele goes limp on the table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings:   
> continued panic attack from little skele's reaction to Red.   
> discussing of pet conditioning.  
> Little skele's injuries


	41. Chapter 41

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at bottom
> 
> Day Count- 62 (2)
> 
> Our little skele is not doing good. So at least until the day count falls back to just one count be aware of possible hard topics like injuries, panic/anxiety attacks, dissociation, mentions of severe abuse, and other things that could be associated with a recovering kidnap victim. Please consume content safely

“Just because I have given you the day off of your sentry duty does not mean you can slack off.” Fell ties his scarf around his neck before bending down to put on his boots. “Until I have permission for that collar you cannot let him out of your sight. He is your responsibility until I get back, understood.”

“Yeah, yeah Comic’s still ‘ere he’ll help.” Red yawns. “Blue said he’ll be back for a healin’ session later… We’ll make sure he gets food and water, yadda, yadda…”

“Good because he’s up.” Fell points as the little skele stirs from his curled up ball in the corner of the couch. “I should probably explain what happened last night before I leave, since he is up.”

Consciousness returning to the little skele, he is instantly aware of the lack of ache in his shoulders and rolls them as he sits up. Opening his sockets, he is a bit confused why there is a cushy dingy green colored wall in front of him. Then he instantly regrets trying to look around to figure out where he is as his neck flairs with a familiar burning sensation. Feeling a hand touch his shoulder he instantly throws himself away from who he realizes too late is Fell. Falling over the arm of the couch he manages to roll over his shoulder to land on his feet just to the side of the couch.

“Why is it when you fall off the couch you always land on your face?” Fell accuses Red before turning back to the little skele. “Sorry, won’t touch without permission… I wanted to let you know that last night the previous owner of the collar must have placed a stealth defense on the collar, it was enough to burn us both. I apologize for not seeing it. They are usually obvious so no one dares even think about touching… Anyways, it seemed to have surprised you as well. It should fade within the next little bit.”

“Mornin’” Comic shortcuts behind Red and drops all his weight onto his back making him stumble with a curse. “Do I smell breakfast?”

“Wha’ da hell er ya doin’ up?” Red holds Comic’s wrists so he doesn’t slide to the floor. “Thought I wouldn’ see ya till noon.”

“My bro called to make sure I wasn’t being a lazybones.” Comic sighs. “He is so cool. No offense Fell.”

“There is breakfast on the table.” Fell rolls his eyes. “Red volunteered you to help take care of our guest.”

“OW. Hey!” Red half jerks from Comic. “Don’ make me take…”

“No canoodling in front of the kid. Don’t you think he has been tortured enough?” Fell huffs fists on hips as the little skele looks between them all trying to figure out what is going on. “I am sorry I have to leave you in their corrupting influence but I need to get my co-captain to sign off on the paperwork that says I am not illegally binding you to me with illegal equipment.”

“Yada, yada, yer gonna be late if ya don’ leave now.” Red points out rubbing his shoulder as he keeps an eye on Comic who is smirking up at him. “I’ll make sure he doesn’ run ‘way like our pet rock did.”

“Don’t yada, yada me.” Fell walks back towards the door. “I will be back for my break to check in on you all.”

Fell marches over to the door and leaves for his shift. Red shuffles after him, half dragging Comic, to make sure the door is locked up behind him. Then he readjusts himself to go to the kitchen to start in on the breakfast his brother had left them. Dropping Comic into a chair he looks back to see the little skele has not followed them and goes back to the door.

“We’re eatin’ at da table.” Red informs watching the little skele give an unsure look over his shoulder. “Ya hungry er not?”

Now completely sure there is an option the little skele shakes his head no and waits for Red to leave the room again. The little skele isn’t up for the embarrassment of having to be fed since he still can’t use his hands. He had also not seen them make it which led to several issues he is not willing to risk just yet. So once Red has rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders he heads back in to the kitchen. Now stuck with nothing to do the little skele sits down at the coffee table resting his arms on the surface, it soothed some of the ache. Almost instantly he is uncomfortable though; his legs were in new bandages which were fine but the bandages around his ribs were a mess from how he slept, and the tape holding the bandages to his illium are losing their grip. All in all, it is minor but it is annoying.

“Sure you aren’t hungry?” Comic peeks into the living room. “Fell’s a good cook as long as he stays away from Lasagna.”

Horror had told him to eat well but he really isn’t all that hungry at the moment. Maybe it is like when he first went to live with the gang, since he has not been eating a lot he needs to eat less for a while until he builds back up to several meals a day. Though Horror had him eating several extra small meals but he just couldn’t right now. He shakes his head at Comic.

“Alright, if you are sure.” Comic goes back into the kitchen. “Come get us if you need something.”

The little skele tries to think of a way to even communicate with the other skeletons. If they don’t ask him yes or no questions, there isn’t much he could do. Red definitely didn’t like it when he growled so he would have to try not to do that when communicating with him around. The whimpering is kind of embarrassing when he snapped out of it.

Lost in thought the little skele doesn’t notice the other two skeletons coming back into the room or even that Comic waves a hand in front of his face. You get pretty good at it when you have nothing to do for days on end. It isn’t until an odd crunch sound comes from somewhere in the room that he tunes back into reality in search of the noise. Someone had turned on the TV and there is a monster tied to a chair with his hands cuffed to a table. A rectangular robot is saying something but all the little skele can hear is the sound of bone cracking under the hammer with each strike the calculator delivered.

“Red, this is just messed up.” Comic scrunched up his features at the gore. “And definitely not appropriate to a young…”

“Don’ be a babybones. Jus’ don’ watch.” Red jokes, then notices the little skele staring at the screen. “Wha’s wrong wit’ ya?”

Nope. The little skele gets to the furthest corner in the room and covers his earholes as he crouches down trying to hide from the sound. It is no use, as it is now bouncing around stuck in his head with the low cooing voice of someone speaking of how reasonable it is to make a pet dependent on his master. He is starting to consider if banging his head against the wall will dislodge the trapped noise when something else starts to bleed through. Loud music is playing to his right and he slowly removes his hands to hear it instead of what’s in his head. Red is kneeling next to him with a look of concern and the little skele realizes he has tears dripping from his face. Quickly he cuts his magic from that outlet and tries to rub away the evidence… Red pretends not to notice.

“Yeah, dat was stupid of me.” Red turns the music down to be heard. “Are ya alright now?”

The little skele shakes his head and sits with his back to the wall hugging his ribs. He felt like he wanted to throw up but there just isn’t enough in his system to accommodate the action. So he just tries to breathe laying his forehead on his knees knowing if he could speak right now he would be babbling insane nonsense. Something is playing on the TV again but Red left his phone playing music next to the little skele so it is drowned out.

“What happened?” Fell growls having brought Blue into the house to be greeted by the little skele still curled up in the corner. “I asked you to take care of him while I was gone.”

“Hey can you hear me.” Blue kneels beside the little skele getting only a weak whine for recognition. “I am going to pick you up, okay? Fell, where is somewhere quiet, that I can do this healing.”

“My room.” Fell answers. “You know which it is.”

Blue princess carries the little skele effortlessly up the stairs, only struggling with the door for just a second before entering the room. The little skele sits where Blue puts him on the oddly designed bed and doesn’t resist as his sweater is pulled over his skull. Careful of his hands Blue completely removes the sweater and sets it aside. Then he lays the little skele back folding his hands over each other.

“You with me yet?” Blue asks gently but the little skele just stares up at the ceiling. “I am going to start healing your hands. Let me know if you need something.”

Blue’s healing magic is very soothing. By the time Blue has done all he can for this session the little skele is relaxed. The little skele attempts to be helpful getting into a clean sweater that is packed for him, this one forest green. It catches in the back so it is bunched up showing off everything from his scapula to waistband when Fell knocks on the door and enters.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t realize you had to remove any articles of clothes to get to the affected area.” Fell coughed and looked to the corner of his room. “Do those bandages need changed? They look poorly wrapped.”

“The injury doesn’t really need bandages it is just keeping the healing gel from being wiped away but I don’t have any more to apply.” Blue sighs. “Are they uncomfortable?”

The little skele nods wanting the tangled bandages removed. Then remembers something and steps back from Blue to open his inventory. Turning so Blue can see the items the little skele points to one of the jars of healing gel he had nabbed during a shopping trip, he had three but the other two were disguised. Since it is extra, Nightmare had told him it is his to keep. When Blue pulls it out the little skele motions for him to give it to Fell. So Blue holds the jar out to Fell as the little skele closes his inventory.

“I can’t take this.” Fell looks between the jar and the little skele. “Why would you think I would accept this?”

The little skele lifts his chin and motions to the collar still around his neck. Fell shakes his head about to speak again when the little skele points to Fell then himself and then makes a wide motion like he is pointing to a group. Fell gets it because he rolls his eyes and crosses his arms as he understood.

“It is my job as a Royal Guard to help others when I can. Mostly just Snowdin and my co-captain.” Fell knows how expensive a jar that size of healing gel is and how much it could help. “Removing illegal contraband from the public is my job I can’t accept payment.”

Pouting the little skele thinks then points to the jar then himself. Fell would of course help the little skele apply it to his injuries if need be but he felt there is more. There is, the little skele points to the jar and then the bedroom door. Yes, Red could definitely use the healing gel at times, not as much as he used to thankfully but…

“My brother has sent you into several panic attacks since you arrived, why would you want to give it to me so I can just turn around and help him?” Fell is a bit startled to see the angry confusion flit across the little skele’s face. “Am I wrong about something?”

The little skele throws his hands up before thinking and flinches but quickly hides it by dropping his arms back to his sides. He looks to Blue for help, this not speaking thing is becoming difficult. Blue is trying to hide his growing grin behind his free hand. Huffing the little skele turns back to Fell, he motions to the door, crosses his arms in an x, and then motions to the collar.

“I don’t think he is willing to take this back.” Blue giggles at the game of charades. “And I think he’s angry you think he is mad at Red?”

The little skele nods turning his back to the jar of healing gel. It made no sense to be mad at someone who didn’t know what would set him off, or accidently triggering one of his panic episodes, he isn’t even completely sure what would set him off, not that he was ever completely aware before. Fell decides to accept the healing gel but before he can reach for it he has to catch the little skele from falling face first into his night stand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings:  
> Torture, mettaton on the TV and flash back for little skele.  
> Panic/dissociation from little skele because of recalling torture  
> Mention of feeling like needing to throw up
> 
> So you guys are getting an extra chapter because it is my birthday! I am shamelessly fishing for birthday wishes. This is the last chapter this year! Hope to continue you to hear from you all doing well next year.
> 
> Little skele isn't stable and might be pushing himself.


	42. Chapter 42

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at bottom
> 
> Day Count- 62 (2)
> 
> Our little skele is not doing good. So at least until the day count falls back to just one count be aware of possible hard topics like injuries, panic/anxiety attacks, dissociation, mentions of severe abuse, and other things that could be associated with a recovering kidnap victim. Please consume content safely

“I find it odder that he isn’t having nightmares.” Fell watches Blue fret over the fact he can’t do the physical comforting thing. “The unstable magic is completely explainable by the collar.”

“Well, that might actually be the foreign magic in his Soul.” Blue timidly informs sitting at the foot of Fell’s bed where the little skele slept. “I didn’t want to share too much about something so private… Even if he doesn’t care.”

“Blue, this collar is illegal for many reasons one of which is the damage it causes to the wearer. One of the big reasons I was able to get the paperwork for this to go through so quickly is because the longer he wears it the harder it is on his magic lines.” Fell rubs his skull between his sockets. “If he was harmed in other way by the previous owner of that collar it could be vital to his health that I am made aware… What do you mean he doesn’t care?”

The little skele jerks up in a panic kicking himself back up against the headboard arms uselessly at his sides. His eye lights don’t come on but head twitches just enough that Fell can tell he is trying to look around without being obvious. What senses are working, are too confused to process what his mind thinks should be going on and what is reality. Blue is carefully holding himself back from touching as his words seem to come across wrong as the little skele raises his shoulders like he is waiting for a blow.

Fell motions Blue back when he glances over concerned that he can’t do anything to get through to the little skele. Bracing himself, Fell reaches slowly for the collar, noticing instantly that the little skele is reacting to his approach. The little skele is trying not to but is shaking and the closer Fell’s hand gets the more he tilts his skull to expose the collar. As soon as Fell’s fingers brush the collar the little skele’s face scrunches up as if expecting something to start hurting.

“How is that?” Fell asks after introducing a bit more magic into the collar. “Can you get magic to your sockets? Your hearing? We are not angry, so stop the apologizing.”

“What can we do to help?” Blue watches the little skele trying to sit more comfortably now that his senses aren’t going haywire. “…Maybe, if you are up for it, I can change your bandages now.”

Looking suspiciously around the room as if he expected someone else to be in there the little skele stretches his legs back out towards Blue. Still looking around confused the little skele focuses on the corners of the room as Blue pulls out the first aid kit. Fell takes his fingers from the collar and touches the little skele’s shoulder expecting a harsh reaction for the over step but hardly feels a slight tension before even that disappears.

“Where are you?” Fell asks and Blue stops to give him an odd look. “Right, yes or no… Blue can you phrase it in a way he can answer yes or no?”

“Well there are four potential places I think he could associate with but is this really necessary. Couldn’t it make it worse… I promised not to dig into his past where not necessary.” Blue watches Fell lift the dazed skele to the middle of the bed. “I suppose I could name a few places and see how he responds.”

“If you would.” Fell looks back to the little skele who is now just sitting hazy eyed. “May I bandage your back…? I want your permission.”

The little skele gives Fell a confused glance before giving a light nod. Fell rolls the sweater up so it tucks over the little skele’s shoulders so his hands are free to unwrap the old bandages. Blue carefully maneuvers the little skele’s leg so he doesn’t unbalance him.

“Your home… your AU… where you got the collar… I think he is too confused…” Blue switches to the little skele’s other leg after the mixed answers. “He doesn’t know where he is, that is clear.”

“He knows he isn’t home. It happens after a trauma… He knows he isn’t in the place he considers safe, even if I can assure it is quite safe in my home, my presence.” Fell hears a chuckle from Blue and clears his throat. “Safety, is something you have to prove, and people with trauma have way more evidence the world is dangerous than others can make it safe… Or so I have seen, I am a guard I deal with the issue not the aftermath.”

“Of course, aftercare is for da softer verses.” Red leans against the doorframe of the open door. “Comic is gettin’ worried, taken ta long.”

“Hey, you said…” Comic pops up in the corner by the door. “Woops.”

Blue lets go of the end of the bandage he is about to tape down when the little skele jerks away from him. Fell catches an elbow to the ribs as the little skele jerks around to keep his back from being exposed to the skeleton that suddenly appeared in the corner. Comic raises his hands to show harmlessness carefully watching the little skele’s eye lights blowing out and then shrinking to almost nonexistent. Red grabs Comic’s wrist to pull him out of the way if need be and the little skele’s eyes look to Red’s face. He curls into himself ashamed of his reaction. Forcing himself to look to the two by the door, he whimpers.

“Red, I am pretty sure he can’t even form magic constructs, you can stop playing guard dog every time he flinches.” Comic sighs guiltily lowering his hands into his pockets. “I just scared him and now he is apologizing because...”

“You’re not. I was told to remind you that you are not dangerous.” Blue pulls the little skele from Fell’s lap so Fell can move again. “It’s okay.”

The little skele launches himself into Blue’s lap hugging him and hiding his face in the other’s shirt as he lets himself cry. Blue carefully hugs him back letting the little skele curl up in his lap. He just wanted to be away for a little while. Fell takes the chance to finish up the bandaging that they had momentarily abandoned.

“Where’d dis come from?” Red snatches the jar of healing gel from the bedside table when Fell sets it aside. “Ya been ta New Home er somethin’.”

“Payment for his stay.” Fell gets up snatching it from Red. “Must you two be so lazy, shortcutting all over the house, and just because you decided to use my door this time doesn’t mean I am not aware you didn’t use the stairs.”

“What and deny you the opportunity to nag?” Comic grins at the glare Fell directs at him. “He didn’t seem to mind us shortcutting last night…”

“Yes you shortcutted right behind him and he didn’t even flinch, I found it odd.” Fell looks back where Blue is gently rocking the little skele. “…Stay out of the corners… That’s where his eyes keep searching… Fear tactic, always watching from a dark corner, never knowing when the eyes will be there.”

“I am still trying to, um, sift through it and planned to let you read it next…” Blue opens his own inventory pulling out a small journal looking book. “Abridged copy of the notes the guy who held him took on his training process.”

“I can see why you were given the abridged copy… Do you have access to the unabridged version?” Fell flips through the book with a critical eye. “It has a section on the Soul manipulation; did the original explain more about the damage it caused?”

“I am not sure, I never saw it.” Blue readjusts the little skele to be sitting in his lap nestled up to his chest. “There isn’t really damage, more of just strangely patterned residual magic.”

“Da bastard messed wit’ his Soul?” Red rubs his hand down his face. “Fuck, how bad? What kind of pattern?”

Blue is watching the others trying to think about how to describe the pattern. The little skele had heard what Red is asking about and decides to comply before being asked. Although he keeps it close the little skele pulls out his Soul for inspection, no one had needles or seemed like a doctor so it is relatively safe. Comic is the first to notice and turns a bit green as he puts his hand over his teeth. It draws Red’s attention out from under his hand and he glances over to go wide socket at the site.

“Uh, Blue, ya migh’ wanna…” Red motions to the little skele so both Fell and Blue look at what he has done. “Dose are cracks?”

“No, it’s foreign magic, but… This is better than when I first saw it.” Blue examines the Soul hovering closely to the little skele’s ribs. “Magic is just as strong but definitely not as much… or at least not as stretched out.”

“I assume this is what was meant by he doesn’t care.” Fell gets a decent look at the Soul before shaking himself. “Blue, return his Soul, maybe consider a lesson on proper Soul etiquette at some point.”

A phone downstairs rings and Fell heads out to answer it. Blue carefully directs the little skele’s Soul back into his ribs. The little skele looks around confused, no one is mad but it doesn’t seem like he has done what he was supposed to do. So what is he supposed to do and is it going to be painful now that he hadn’t done it willingly.

“Hey, sorry about scaring you earlier.” Comic comes over as Blue set the little skele on his own feet and gets off the bed. “Not saying I don’t do that to startle people all the time but not like that. Oh, and don’t worry too much about Red, I can keep him on a tight leash. He’ll be nicer.”

“You are to come with me.” Fell puts his hand in his brother’s face as the other is about to say something and pushes him out of the room talking to the little skele. “I am told that you must submit to an evaluation for our future records.”

“Dat come direc’ly from the fishbitch?” Red shortcuts onto the bed and plops down. “He’s small ‘nough, put ‘em in stripes.”

The little skele had perked up recognizing the nickname Horror had given to his Undyne but quickly whines at someone else thinking it would be amusing to put him back in stripes. That had not really worked out for him the last time, though it is not the reason things had gone wrong. Forcing himself to focus on what is going on now, he grows anxious knowing why Horror gave his Undyne the nickname.

“Captain Undyne is the one who will be doing the evaluation. She is not being unreasonable.” Fell crosses his arms sternly. “I will be with him the entire time, he will be safe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings:  
> Panic attacks - wakes up on one and Comic triggers one with his entrance.  
> Conditioned action when Fell reaches for the collar. And his willingness to pull out his Soul from his own universe.  
> Let me know if I missed something.
> 
> First chapter of the new year! Happy New Year... Jumanji and all that precautionary stuff to hope for a good year. Hope everyone is taking care!
> 
> Glad everyone is enjoying the story! Thanks for all the kudos, bookmarks, and especially the comments, I enjoy it all quote a bit.


	43. Chapter 43

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at bottom
> 
> Day Count- 62 (2)
> 
> Our little skele is not doing good. So at least until the day count falls back to just one count be aware of possible hard topics like injuries, panic/anxiety attacks, dissociation, mentions of severe abuse, and other things that could be associated with a recovering kidnap victim. Please consume content safely

The little skele had been put into a puffy black jacket that had been in the back of Red’s closet because he threw away nothing that could come in use later, which the little skele could understand. Blue had wanted to come but was talked out of it when he was reminded how Undyne got when too many ‘creepy clones’ were in her verse without her knowing. Red is on speed dial but doesn’t want to go and assured Fell he would be _annoying_ if he was forced to visit the ‘fishbitch’ with them.

So the little skele keeps his head down, following a step behind and to Fell’s left. Most of the residents give Fell his distance as he marches through the town confidently and obviously on a mission. A lot of the residence are making sure they aren’t caught even looking his way. Though as they are passing in front of Grillby’s an out of towner in a cloak goes to walk by them. The little skele’s vision is relegated to what isn’t blocked by the hood over his head and the snow about three feet in a semicircle in front of him. So he easily sees the foot that lashes out at his left leg. Without missing a beat, the little skele twists and places himself at Fell’s other side intending to pretend as if nothing happened. Apparently Fell is going to have none of that.

“Do you have a death wish, because I can assure you there are far more pleasant ways to die than messing with me?” Fell holds the other monster up by the front of their cloak speaking in a calm furious tone and the little skele looks around for other threats to see a crowd looking on. “I am pretty sure the collared laws are the same in the whole underground and you clearly just aimed for someone under my protection.”

“Come on, what’s a face full of snow to remind the weak of their place?” The green bunny huffed trying and failing for a chuckle. “No harm, didn’t touch the pathetic…”

Fell slams the monster against the outside of Grillby’s gaining the attention of those inside. There are many faces at the window trying to see what is going on and several disappear once they see that Fell is involved. Grillby steps out the door as Fell is summoning a sharp red bone to put through the offender.

“I hope you intend to pay for the damages if you put another hole in my establishment.” This purple flamed Grillby crackles. “And finish this one off, the last one yelled for hours, and it’s bad for business.”

“And why should I care about the business of this dump.” Fell doesn’t take his eyes off his capture but does see the little skele moving to cover his blind spot. “I am doing my duty as a guard to punish a law breaker.”

“Why do you get all the fun Captain?” Doggo slumps out dog treat smoking in his mouth. “Can’t we take care of this one?”

“Yes, Greater needs his exercise for the day.” Dogressa grins at the green rabbit.

“Too much energy.” Dogamy agrees.

“What did he do?” Doggo steps on the rabbit’s chest when the rabbit is thrown to the ground in front of him. “So the punishment fits the crime.”

“What?” The rabbit looks around for some pity from someone. “A bit of fun is a crime out here in the sticks?”

“Attempted assault on someone in a collar.” Fell rubs his hands like he is trying to dust off dirt. “This one… did he manage to even graze you?”

The little skele looks up to Fell to see if he is the one being spoken to and quickly shakes his head since he had been able to completely avoid the kick. Several feral sounding growls have the little skele shifting back behind Fell as he returns his eyes to the ground. He had a bad habit of upsetting his Dog guard in his AU so assumes that he has done the same here. Fell watches him and turns his gaze back to his men.

“Really, kicking a pup?” Dogressa growls down at the rabbit, who is definitely regretting his life right now.

“That pup isn’t even a quarter your size.” Dogamy bares his teeth.

“I will leave him to you.” Fell adjusts his gloves. “I have a meeting with Captain Undyne.”

Fell turns his back on the group and starts his march again. The little skele returns to his spot behind Fell trying not to glance back. They walk as if nothing just happened back there. It isn’t until the little skele risks a glance up that he stops about ten feet from the wall of fog. When the extra sound of crunching snow stops Fell looks back to see what has happened, to see the little skele looking unsure at the fog screen.

“Is there a problem?” Fell controls his voice trying not to let the irritation from the confrontation affect the little skele who is shaking his head but looking unsure. “It is no different than any other AU I have visited… Have you ever been through the fog?”

Gaster, his dad, had brought them from the lab to Snowdin while him and his brother slept. When the gang had taken him back to his AU they had taken River person’s boat. Then when they visited other AU’s they would shortcut where they need to go to avoid too much detection. On his own he had been too afraid to venture far from where he could find a portal to another AU. This fog wall is new, and the little skele shakes his head again at Fell’s question.

“Just walk straight, it only lasts a moment and then we will be on the other side.” Fell explains as he wonders if the little skele just ‘shortcut’ everywhere too often or if his world really has been so small. “You can’t see in front of your face and if we stay quiet no one can find us.”

The little skele wishes he could use his hands so he could hold onto Fell so they don’t get separated. He gulps and nods taking a step forward staring straight ahead as he enters the fog. His footfall slowly turns from sounding like the crunch of snow underfoot to the slapping of rubber sole against stone floor. Risking a look, the little skele glances down to see the ground is too far away to see through the fog and looks back in front of him where the fog is thinning so he can see Fell’s back. The walk through Waterfall is uneventful and the little skele keeps his head down missing most of the scenery he passes but the sound of dripping water is a bit soothing. Fell stops at the door of a fish shaped house and pauses as he is about to knock.

“Step all the way behind me.” Fell instructs. “Keep me between you and Captain Undyne until I tell you otherwise… got it?”

With a nod from the little skele, Fell knocks on the door. It immediately flies open breaking one of the hinges so that it hangs off at an angle. Although the suddenness of it has caused the little skele to jump he stays behind Fell who moves out of the way of a glowing spear. Fell and Undyne angrily banter at each other, as Fell tries to get her to stop attacking with the little skele in harm’s way. Several times he feels as if the little skele isn’t getting out of the way fast enough to realize he narrowly avoided one of Undyne’s new tactics. Finally, he gets his own sharpened bone to Undyne’s neck.

“Do you yield?” Fell grins maliciously. “Or do I become full captain?”

Undyne barks out a loud laugh ignoring the danger at her throat. “Fine, fine… Where is the ward you wanted to take over?”

“Just behind me, as I have been telling you this entire time.” Fell unsummons his bone attack and looks under his arm. “You are good to come out.”

“Woah, he’s so tiny. I didn’t see him at all.” Undyne studies the little skele as he steps out from behind Fell and as he looks to Fell for instruction she grabs him by the back of the jacket. “Come here, I need to see something… Wow, feisty, might want to toughen up that growl though.”

“Undyne put him down. He does not…” Fell is stopped by a spear wall. “Undyne!”

“I won’t hurt him too badly.” Undyne places the little skele back on the ground and he backs up so he is not in reach of the spear but no further. “How good are ya kid?”

The little skele jumps back from the tip of Undyne’s spear. Her attacks come relentlessly not giving the little skele time to pull his hands from his pockets. Still he soon finds her pattern and stays just out of the way of every swing and jab she launches at him. It isn’t overly difficult but he had been confined for over two weeks and his injuries are starting to ache. He slips under an attack to place himself in her blind spot hoping to get a break and struggles trying to free his hands but they are pretty stuck at the moment.

“Hey, what the hell?” Undyne tries to shake her new shadow with no luck. “Papyrus, what’s with this kid?”

“I don’t know everything yet.” Fell moves in to separate them. “What I do know is that he is injured. So I would appreciate it if you didn’t bully him.”

“I am not bullying. I am making sure he isn’t going to get my co-captain killed if I approve this paperwork for you to take in this ward.” Undyne moves away from the little skele back towards her house. “Come on, we will put the final touch on that paperwork.”

Fell huffs as he rolls his eyes at the way Undyne has invited them in for tea. She can’t outright invite them, too friendly, but they can’t refuse because they do need the paperwork she has. So Fell takes a step to follow her when he hears a hesitant whimper. The little skele is glancing around unsure at thier surroundings but making no move to follow them into the relative safety of an enclosed space. Then Fell sees why, the little skele is favoring his left leg. Blood is starting to seep through the bandage on that leg and Fell marches over and although the little skele flinches he is hefted onto his shoulder like a heavy sack.

“You owe me new bandages.” Fell gripes walking through the door Undyne is placing back on its hinges. “We just changed these before coming over.”

“What? I didn’t touch the runt. Why would I owe you bandages?” Undyne watches Fell sit the little skele on the edge of her table and sees the bloody bandage as she gets the door closed. “Damn, how bad did I hurt him? Really was just testing the little guy.”

“As I said he was injured before your little stunt.” Fell unwraps the little skele’s left leg taking note that a blood spot is forming half way down the shin as well. “The fractures were strained… This one is an older injury but he doesn’t have the magic to help the healing yet… Bandages?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Undyne brings over a roll of clean bandages. “Those markings, did his owner have him on his knees often.”

“Undyne! There is no need to be crude.” Fell pulls out the healing gel to reapply that as well. “And no, wounded pride mostly but I have not gotten to completely look through the training journal that was being kept.”

“So, why isn’t he in stripes.” Undyne hovers over Fell’s shoulder watching him work, ignoring the chuff from the little skele. “And where did you get this? It’s good quality and a good size.”

“He is too old for stripes.” Fell puts the healing gel back on the table to get another dab for the little skele’s fibula. “And he insisted I take it as payment.”

“HA! I like the little guy. You convinced him to let you permanently collar him yet?” Undyne heads for the stove pulling out a beat up kettle and filling it with water. “If not I might want to.”

“Enough.” Fell orders when the little skele lets out a low growl. “He is not interested in wearing a collar at this point in time.”

The little skele continues to watch Undyne make three cups of tea. Whether intentional or not she never moves so that he can’t see what she is doing. Noticing the little skele’s right leg swinging absently Fell looks up to see what has the little skele distracted and can’t help but let out a bit of a huff of a laugh. It is common knowledge that poison is a coward’s tool but it didn’t mean you turned your back on anyone preparing something they plan to give to you. Finishing the bandaging Fell places the little skele into a chair as he puts the jar of healing gel back in his inventory. Then walks to the counter to grab the cups that Undyne leaves there as she heads to the table. The circles you run to work around loopholes.

“So, is there actually some evaluation you need to do before we finish the paperwork or were you really only interested in his ability not to get me killed.” Fell places the cup in front of the little skele, he is already under his protection, even if it is temporary. “Which is counterproductive when we had to walk here to come to this evaluation?”

“This is all short notice so it isn’t thoroughly thought out.” Undyne sips at her tea. “There is a slight inspection to make sure this is an illegal bit of equipment and check to see that he is doing this of his own accord.”

Fell rolls his eyes as he sips at his tea as well, golden flower tea that the King kept them both supplied in, in his saner moments. Not likely ever to be poisoned since the King doesn’t keep anything like that close enough to be used against him. The little skele places the ends of the jacket under his legs so he can pull his hands out of his pockets before sitting up on his right leg so he can fold his arms around his cup and hide his face as he listened to the co-captains. This way he can kind of tip the cup up to his teeth to sip at the cups contents, it is the first thing he has had since Blue’s tacos.

“So easy part first. Have you willingly let this nerd take you into his protection for the purpose of removing that illegal collar from around your neck.” Undyne leans heavily on the table as Fell huffs at the indignity of being called a nerd but the little skele doesn’t respond to the question, it sounded like a trick. “What’s wrong with him? He can answer simple questions right? Doesn’t need permission or what not?”

“No, he should be fine to answer of his own accord as long as it is yes or no?” Fell eyes the little skele. “Try to rephrase the question.”

“Really? Fine, fine…” Undyne thinks on it for a moment and then points to Fell. “Did you give Papyrus, Co-Captain of the Underground, permission to take control of that collar… for removal purposes.”

Thinking it over for a moment the little skele gives a nod. Undyne sits there trying to think over why he had not agreed the first time but shakes her head to move on. This time she thinks over the wording before addressing the little skele for the answer. She needed to be tactful with this question if she wanted to continue.

“Can the person who put you in that collar show up?” Undyne stares steadily as the little skele’s eye lights shrink to pinpoints before he shakes his head in the negative. “Easy… one more line of questioning and then I need to look at your collar… Are all of your injuries from your previous owner?”

The little skele glares at her, that Sans did not own him. Trying to say as much causes a burning sensation to flare around the collar on his neck. Flinching hard spills the last dregs of his tea as he pulls his hands back to protect the sensitive area even though the braces on his hands stop him from soothing the pain in anyway.

“Don’t fight the collar.” Fell quickly motions the little skele to lower his hands and lift his chin careful not to actually touch just yet. “Don’t see any magic seeping from the collar… And the previous person owned the collar, not the skeleton in it. Survivors can hold very tightly to concepts that make little sense to us but he needs the assurance that he is not owned right now.”

That isn’t completely true but the little skele has no way of actually explaining it to them. He is also pretty sure he is not supposed to be spreading it around that he is one of Nightmare’s. Calming down and breathing steadier the little skele feels the burning feeling fading away. It still stung like he had tried to drink something too hot but it is bearable.

“May I ask the questions or do you have to do it?” Fell looks to Undyne who motions for him to continue. “Alright… Did you receive all of your injuries after you were taken by the owner of this collar? Did he find you hurt? Have I hurt you?”

“That is good. Now if I can just examine the collar.” Undyne waits for approval from the little skele before putting hands on him. “He is so tiny.”

Undyne teases tilting the little skele’s head from side to side watching how it reacted. Then carefully feeling the magic flowing through it and how it is working on the skeleton wearing it. Fell’s magic is detectable but just barely and the other magic is aggressive. The magic leaves her fingers tingling when she pulls away from the collar. It is definitely an illegal article. She pokes his cheek as she finishes her inspection.

“You are good to go Papyrus… Are Sans’ cheeks this squishy as well?” Undyne continue to poke at the little skele. “Your’s could cut granite. He would never let me do this.”

“I will not be responsible if he bites you.” Fell crosses his arms. “He is only being tolerant because he thinks he might get in trouble.”

“What? Fighting back is a given.” Undyne declares squeezing both of the little skele’s cheeks with a laugh. “Besides, what are his blunt teeth going to do?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings:  
> Implied that the weak are abused  
> Implied of off screen death  
> Bleeding because of strain to injuries  
> Accusations that little skele was used in a sexual way  
> If I missed anything let me know
> 
> So, is Undyne asking for it?


	44. Chapter 44

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at bottom
> 
> Day Count- 62 (2)
> 
> Our little skele is not doing good. So at least until the day count falls back to just one count be aware of possible hard topics like injuries, panic/anxiety attacks, dissociation, mentions of severe abuse, and other things that could be associated with a recovering kidnap victim. Please consume content safely.
> 
> The amount of you that choose chaos! Because yes that is what ensues when you bite Undyne chaos! Have you all ever heard of consequences?

“He is not allowed back at Undyne’s.” Fell walks into the house and drops the little skele onto Red who is leaning against Comic, before turning back to take care of the door. “I swear I am dealing with a bunch of children.”

“Meetin’ go dat bad?” Red sits up rubbing his ribs where the little skele had landed on him. “She wanna kill ‘im.”

“No, collar him.” Fell rubs his forehead. “I swear, I thought you and her were horrible to deal with but her with him… I need to cook.”

“Wha’d ya do?” Red looks down to the little skele before remembering he can’t speak. “Boss, ya gotta tell us wha ‘e did.”

“Undyne was poking and prodding at him, like they do in your soft verses with small children, and when he started looking annoyed I warned her that he bites… I did not know that he actually did.” Fell moved his massaging fingers to his temple. “She antagonized him, even asking ‘what are you going to do about it runt’ before he had enough and clamped down on her wrist… AND SHE’S ANGRY IT WON’T LEAVE A SCAR!”

Red barks out a laugh before falling over in a fit of laughing hugging the little skele to him. Comic watches the unamused little skele contemplate his life choices. Then Red sits back up adjusting the little skele in his lap still slightly chuckling. Fell is glaring down at Red not finding this as amusing as the others seems to find it.

“She almost threw him across the room in surprise, something about not expecting that kind of bravery from something so tiny.” Fell continued to rant about the ordeal. “Then going on about needing sharper teeth like you, and wondering if you were actually that squishy even though you look like solid bone.”

“Hey! Why was I drawn inta dis?” Red gave his own glare of disapproval to his brother. “I ain’t squishy, an’ if she tries she’ll come back wit’ a nub.”

“Please, I told her as much. She just said Alphys would make her something cool to replace it.” Fell begins to settle back down but misses (again) the flinch from mention of Alphys. “I am going to the kitchen. Behave in here.”

“I think you just earned more points.” Comic goes to help the little skele from Red’s grip but Red moves to keep him. “Red, if you get bitten…”

“He’s my buddy now. Don’t worry yer still my oof.” Red huffs when Comic elbows him in the ribs. “Alright, alright ya wanna get up?”

The little skele nods wanting out of Red’s hold while he is still in a good mood. When his feet touch the ground he feels a tug at the jacket he is wearing. Looking over his shoulder he sees Red trying to help him out of the jacket which he happily sheds with the assistance. Then Red lays it over the back of the couch to put up later and lays back over on Comic. They start chatting away at each other and noise from the kitchen draws the little skele’s attention. Neither of the other skeletons in the room are paying him any more consideration so he walks over to the doorway careful to be quiet.

Fell is clattering dishes pulling things out and mixing ingredients when the little skele looks in. Slowly setting himself on the ground the little skele watches Fell work for a bit before the tall skeleton freezes mid-stir. He suddenly turns towards the door with a glare and the little skele jumps. Realizing he is being a bother he tries to quickly get back to his feet.

“Wait…” Fell orders and the little skele stops half turned to flee. “Come in here.”

Hesitantly, fearing punishment for messing Fell up while he cooked, the little skele keeps his head lowered. It does look like he is making a complicated dish and if it is ruined now it will be more than just noodles ruined and more than just the little skele that will be put out. Yet Fell hasn’t started throwing anything away so maybe he hasn’t messed him up too badly.

“Were you watching me cook? Do you know how to cook? Then it is best you get a front row seat to the greatest chef’s skills. May I?” Fell lifts the little skele onto a clean spot of the counter and the little skele smiles widely having enjoyed doing this with Horror. “Pay close attention. I will not repeat myself… I am making my amazing lasagna.”

\----------

“Uh, weren’t we supposed to be watching the kid?” Comic asks realizing he hasn’t seen the little skele in a while. “Did you see where he went?”

“Shit, he’s quiet…” Red jumps up from the couch looking around the room. “TV ain’t even on.”

Comic gets up and glances around as he moves towards the kitchen figuring they can check this floor before seeing if he wondered off upstairs. Before looking in the kitchen he looks at the door to see that it is still locked up tight so the little skele could not have gotten outside. Then another thought hits him and he looks back to Red checking a closet.

“Does he know how to shortcut?” Comic watches Red tense up. “Collar won’t let him right?”

“If he’s been ordered not ta.” Red joins Comic moving to help look in the kitchen. “Have ta… Damn it.”

“Masterpiece, don’t bother answering I already know how amazing this dish is.” Fell held the fork he is using to let the little skele taste his completed lasagna dish. “And it is not a pasta cake.”

“Boss, ain’t lasagna a bit heavy a dish fer some’ne comin’ from ‘is situation?” Red attempts to rescue the poor kid currently swallowing a piece of vinegar doused noodle meat concoction. “Not sure his magic is up fer processin’ dat amount of awesome.”

“Hmm, you are probably right.” Fell looks at the little skele worriedly as he puts his hand to his chin. “Here, take him back into the living room and I will make him something else for dinner. I will save him a serving of this great dish for when we have him in better condition.”

Red hands the kid to Comic as they hurry out of the kitchen to leave Fell to his new task. Comic sits the little skele between them on the couch examining him for any signs he is going to be sick. When he sees nothing he begins to become concerned about other things.

“Do ya ‘ave an iron gut er some’in’?” Red sighs realizing the kid is fine for now. “Didn’t Comic warn ya ‘bout ‘is lasagna?”

In confusion at the sudden worry the two Sans were showing the little skele tilts his head as if in question before understanding their concern. Sitting up straighter the little skele parts his teeth for Comic to see that his tongue isn’t summoned, he had not summoned it during his capture and had not gotten back into the habit yet. It takes a minute for Comic to realize what he is being shown when he bursts out laughing.

“Oh, that’s clever.” Comic pets the top of the little skele’s head but quickly pulls back when he flinches slightly. “Sorry… He didn’t summon his tongue.”

“Well, I ‘preciate ya not gettin’ killed insultin’ Boss’s food but ya prolly still shouldn’ eat dat. It is goin’ ta be hard on yer magic.” Red sighs realizing the little skele has spared his brother’s feeling without doing much harm to himself. “Jus’ be glad I got ‘im ta stop addin’ glass an’ metal spikes to it.”

“Sans, why don’t you teach him some sign language so we can maybe get answers from him.” Fell stands in the kitchen door stirring a pot. “More than yes or no. I can’t even ask what his favorite dish is.”

“Sure Boss.” Red stands from the couch. “How’s ‘bout we put on a movie fer a talkin’ point?”

“Something not too distracting.” Comic thinks for a minute. “What documentaries do you have?”

“A few…” Red starts signing as he speaks. “Rainforest, movie makin’, power plants, lent out da space ones, how ‘bout dis one, ocean life sea turtles… You know it’d prolly help if ya did da signs too.”

Comic chuckles as the little skele is so focused on Red signing that he isn’t actually listening to what he is being told. Noticing the little skele’s hands are covered by his sleeves Comic carefully reaches over to take his closest hand to roll it up. The little skele doesn’t react to him so he lets out an amused snort at the focus as Red rambles to continue the lesson.

“Uhhh, Red, I don’t think this will work either.” Comic has just revealed the tips of the little skele’s splinted hands. “Did Undyne do this?”

“Boss!” Red calls out returning to the couch jolting the little skele from his focus as he looks around confused.

“What?” Fell clatters in the kitchen as he sets things aside to keep anything from burning before appearing in the door. “Why are you yelling?”

“Wha’ da hell happened ta ‘is hands?” Red is still shouting and the little skele looks down to where Comic still cradled his hand, quickly pulling it to himself. “Are dey both like dat?”

“Right, Blue told me that, he tried passing on too much information at once and I didn’t think about it.” Fell walks over to the couch. “Guess we will have to think of something else… Don’t tell Undyne, last thing we need is her being even more impressed. Oh, and…”

“Ow! Wha’ is dat for?” Red growls rubbing his skull where Fell had hit him along with Comic, although he had a lighter hand with Comic. “Didn’ do nothin’.”

“He didn’t eat breakfast did he?” Fell glares down at Red who is staring unbelieving at his brother. “I asked you to take care of him while I was gone and not only did you send him into an episode but you didn’t feed him either.”

“I wasn’ goin’ ta force feed him.” Red grumbles. “An’ da TV thin’ makes more sense now.”

“So, uh, how bad are his hands?” Comic is rubbing his head more for something to do with his own hands than any residual pain. “And is there anything else we should know before we blunder into it?”

“Injury wise… May I?” Fell kneels down next to the slightly distraught little skele getting a slight whimper as he doesn’t understand what is going on. “You are not in trouble… I just want to point out where you are injured… Okay, back… lower back, scuffed from patella to distal phalanx, missing a chip out of the fibula… I think Blue said his hands were shattered from here down.”

“Yep, definitely see why dat segment upset ‘im… Is his magic strong ‘nough to hold ‘im together?” Red asks and sees the little skele give off a shiver at that as he shuts his eyes tight. “Definitely his fear.”

“Unless forcefully removed from his magic bones broken or not will hold in place.” Fell noticed the shiver from the little skele, as well as the amount of attention he is giving to what he is saying. “Were you told otherwise?”

Looking away ashamed he doesn’t answer the question, only recalling the mocking tone that had cooed at him as his arms were incased in the leather mitts to keep him from falling apart. Even with Fell’s explanation some part of him is still convinced if his hands are unwrapped pieces of him would just start falling away. The little skele just pulls his hands closer to his spine protecting them in case one of the others wanted to look at the damage.

“Don’t worry, we will leave your hands to Blue.” Comic assures the little skele. “He is good at puzzles; he will have you put back together in no time.”

“At least we have somethin’s put together.” Red chuckles humorlessly. “He give ya dat unedited journal yet?”

“Good.” Fell picks up the little skele. “Dinner is ready.”

Both Red and Comic flinch at the news not having made any plans for themselves to get out of eating Fell’s lasagna.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings:  
> Discussion of violence and dismemberment by Red if Undyne pulls that stunt with him.  
> Momentary realization of lost person  
> Dangerous food stuffs  
> Reminder of injuries and trauma
> 
> Please let me know if I missed anything or if there are things on the list that really shouldn't be. I am not making light or a joke of these, I really don't know exactly what I am doing.
> 
> The little skele got food! I swear I am pretty sure it was only two missed meals, I know that is a lot for his condition but now Fell fed him. Red and Comic were busy trying to discretely not eat Fell's culinary masterpiece.


	45. Chapter 45

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at bottom
> 
> Day Count- 63 (3)
> 
> Our little skele is not doing good. So at least until the day count falls back to just one count be aware of possible hard topics like injuries, panic/anxiety attacks, dissociation, mentions of severe abuse, and other things that could be associated with a recovering kidnap victim. Please consume content safely.

“I have no idea how they ended up like that.” Comic stage whispers holding his hands in the air. “He woke from a nightmare. Said he was going to watch some TV to settle down.”

Red is laying on the couch sprawled out so he took up most of the seating space. One leg hung off the side on the floor. His left hand on his sternum gives a contented little scratch as the right arm above his head hangs over the armrest where his head didn’t manage to reach. Then in the small space between the back of the couch and his ribcage slept the little skele curled up to Red’s side.

“How can he sleep with him snoring like that?” Blue contemplates how to extricate the little skele from his situation, though he seems to be sleeping pretty contentedly as well. “Stop taking pictures!”

“Nope, he shall never live this down.” Comic holds his phone out of Blue’s reach. “I have been betrayed and he shall know my feelings on the matter.”

“Ya better need somethin’ dead if yer wakin’ me up.” Red grumbles bringing his hand down to wipe at some drying drool at the corner of his mouth. “Wha’ do ya wan’?”

Whining comes from the couch as he tries to readjust causing him to freeze. When whatever it is snuggles closer to his side he flails wildly as he falls off the couch at Comic and Blue’s feet. Quickly sitting up he looks up on the couch to see the little skele sitting up still half asleep looking around blearily trying to figure out what is going on this early in the morning. Red grumbles as he gets to his feet.

“How could you replace me?” Comic can’t contain himself any longer. “Am I not enough?”

“Wh… b…dat… he…” Red splutters not yet awake enough for this. “Don’ even ‘member comin’ down ‘ere.”

“Dude, relax, I am not really mad.” Comic chuckles wanting to tease Red not upset him. “But I did get some adorable shots…”

Comic leads the way into the kitchen where there is coffee brewing with Red following after already bright red with embarrassment. Blue shakes his head at the two leaving the room and turns his attention back to the sleep confused little skele who is staring after the retreating backs. Slowly so he doesn’t startle the little skele Blue picks him up and sits him on the edge of the couch.

“Do you want to change first or just start the healing?” Blue asks sitting next to the little skele. “Sorry, nod for changing, shake for healing.”

Obviously not fully awake the little skele plops over so he is laying over Blue’s lap. Startled at first Blue makes sure the little skele doesn’t fall off his lap and into the floor. The little skele is stretched out on his stomach with his arms folded above his head. Taking the hint Blue gently pets the little skele’s skull before getting comfortable and starting to heal his hands.

“Shuddup. Ain’t cute.” Red walks back in with his cup of coffee and looks to the couch. “See he cuddles wit’ any’ne.”

“He is not awake yet.” Blue keeps most of his focus on healing but can keep up this simple conversation. “I probably need to change his bandages at least the ones on his hands while he is still out.”

“Get ‘im out of da sweater real quick. If it wakes ‘im up he’ll have time to doze back off.” Red instructs sipping from his cup. “Boss has da healin’ gel though. He got a call last night ta take a few days off ta take care of his ward. He insisted on his mornin’ patrol still.”

“I can’t use healing gel on the injury yet.” Blue stops healing seeing the sense in what Red is saying. “I can move to one of the rooms if this bothers either of you.”

Red obstinately plops onto the couch next to Blue. Comic chuckles at Red still sipping his coffee daring Blue to continue his last line of thought. Blue just rolls his eyes as he maneuvers the sweater off the little skele who whimpers a bit but doesn’t wake. Letting the little skele settle back down into deeper sleep Blue straightens out the sleeveless tee to cover him again. Comic sits on the coffee table setting his mug aside to hand Blue anything he could need from the first aid kit sitting there.

“He can’t wake up with his hands unwrapped.” Blue looks to the other two. “I won’t be able to calm him down if he has a meltdown like that.”

“I’ll text Boss.” Red silences his phone as he sends a text to be quiet to Fell. “Anythin’ else?”

Blue shakes his head and carefully begins unwinding the bandages from around the splints. Although he doesn’t wake the little skele begins shivering. Comic goes to pat the little skele’s back to calm him since Blue’s hands are busy but halts in shock as the damage is exposed. Red puts his mug down slowly on the coffee table so he doesn’t jostle the little skele.

“This is actually looking better.” Blue forces his smile as he examines the bones. “Looks a lot more like bone shards than…”

“Blue, this kid… I don’t know if you can heal this enough that he’ll ever be able to use his hands again… you know that right. You are good but you can’t later blame yourself for not being able to fix… this.” Comic sits half stunned and flinches at a thought. “We haven’t been giving him pain killers. This has to be agony… Do we have any?”

“Yeah, behin’ da mirror in da…” Red stands up. “I’ll get it.”

“I am not thinking negatively until there is nothing left to do.” Blue holds his hand out for bandages after using a bit of magic to make sure everything is still in place. “He is healing really well. I would say about a sixth of this was powder when I first saw it. I don’t see any of that now.”

“Whoever did dat was meticulous.” Red sets a bottle of strong painkillers next to the first aid kit. “Ya ain’t breakin’ a bone like dat wit’out serious effort.”

“Let’s not discuss how you make bone meal out of someone’s attached limbs.” Comic thought he felt sick when he noticed the little skele was injured but now being told how hard someone had to be trying to inflict this kind of damage on someone, his coffee isn’t sitting well. “How many of these do we give him?”

“Dosage says two but his size I’d only give him one e’ery twelve hours.” Red watches Blue start pumping healing magic into the shattered hands. “We can give him an extra e’ery six hours if he needs it.”

Collecting himself just a bit, Comic notices the little skele trying to hide his face behind his arm as tears stream down his face. The little skele is definitely still asleep and the shivering is only slight tremors every once in a while but Comic reaches out to comfort him again. He almost pulls back when he feels tension under his hand but almost immediately, the little skele relaxes under the gentle back rub. Blue smiles when the little skele relaxes making it easier to circulate the healing magic. When Blue starts to feel exhausted he decides to end this healing session.

“That’s all I can do for now.” Blue leans back against the couch with a sigh. “I might be able to do another later if I take it easy… Here, let him sleep a bit longer and I will go make food.”

“Wha’ happened ta takin’ it easy?” Red watches Blue get up holding the little skele completely limp. “Boss’ll make somethin’ when he gets back.”

“But I don’t want to just sit around.” Blue pouts readjusting the little skele in his arms. “Is there something we can do?”

“I got some cards er somethin’.” Red gets up leaving his empty mug on the table. “Ya goin’ ta carry ‘im ‘round wit’ ya er lay ‘im down?”

Blue looks down seeming to be startled that he is still holding the little skele. “He’s so light. I probably could just carry him around with me.”

“Do wha’ ya want. Jus’ don’ drop him.” Red goes looking for the deck of cards. “Boss’ll find a way ta blame me.”

Comic takes Red’s and his cup to the kitchen to leave them in the sink before lying down next to the coffee table to wait for Red to return with the cards. Rolling his eyes Blue sits at the end of the coffee table sitting the little skele in his lap and letting him curl up comfortably. After a bit of readjusting, Comic snaps a picture of Blue and the little skele. Red turns around in time to see what Comic is up to and decides to plop into his lap.

“Bit camera happy ta day ain’t ya?” Red grabs Comic’s wrist to look at the new picture and flips back through a few. “Yer time a… oye!”

“Get off, I don’t trust you not to look at my cards.” Comic pinches Red to get him off and watches him grumble over moving across the table. “So… What are we going to play?”

They are several hands in when the little skele decides to start stirring into wakefulness. Blue lays his cards on the table to help the other up. When the little skele shows no distress to being so close, Blue sits him so he can see what is going on. Red had just peeked at Blue’s cards, good hand too, and is trying to not look guilty.

“New hand, deal da kid in?” Red asks looking at his poor hand. “Ya know how ta play any card games?”

*Cough* “I don’t think that will work.” Comic wiggles his phalanges. “You are stuck with that hand.”

“Won’ laugh when ya see his hand.” Red mumbles already having been caught cheating a few times by Comic. “A’right, reveal.”

The little skele quietly sits there watching everyone play as Blue explains the game, his luck holding through several more hands. Red grabs drinks for everyone after losing a hand and thus the bet that went with it. A piece of jellied toast finds its way in front of the little skele along with a glass of juice. The others had already eaten but Red knew the little skele couldn’t take the painkiller on an empty stomach. As long as they didn’t stare the little skele didn’t get self-conscious about Blue feeding him the bit of toast.

“Here, take dis.” Red pulls a pill out of the bottle and sets it next to the kids cup. “It’s strong but ya will feel better.”

Blue reaches for the pill but the little skele is looking very unsure about it. The little skele doesn’t know how to communicate at the moment and glances nervously at Red trying to figure it out. It isn’t until Blue taps his teeth with the pill that he gives an unintentional little growl. Immediately he shrinks back looking up at Red terrified, too scared to whimper.

“Shh, shh, what’s wrong?” Blue feels the little skele shaking and wraps his arms around him, petting his skull softly. “It’s just a pain killer.”

“Dammit, I understand ya growlin’ ain’t aggressive now.” Red leans back laying his head on the couch cushion. “I didn’ overreact… Didn’ mean ta really scare ya though… Give a growl, I’ll show ya.”

“That is a whimper… Red is letting you stay here.” Blue starts explaining readjusting the little skele trying to pull his attention from Red. “You are under his protection, his speak for…”

“Dammit, again… Boss wen’ on ‘bout survival…” Red sits up and leans towards the little skele who tucks closer to Blue but continues to watch him. “Ya learn quickly, don’ ya? Ne’er struck twice fer da same thin’. Yer not marred enough, so yer waiting fer magic… Shit… Blue we need ta talk, later. Fer now, painkiller, wouldn’ offer it if it wasn’ a’right. No strings attached.”

The little skele watches Red relax back intentionally trying to put the other at ease. Blue carefully gets the little skele to settle back down before trying to give him the painkiller again. Looking around gauging the other skeletons in the room the little skele allows Blue to give him the pill. Red is impressed when he swallows the pill dry even though Blue immediately has him drinking some more of his juice.

“You’re such a mother hen.” Comic teases after a while of Blue tending the skeleton in his lap, watching the little skele tilt his head at him. “And you are high, Red how strong were those.”

“I said it was strong.” Red chuckles examining the little skele. “Why do ya think I told ya ta…”

Red is on his feet in an instant as the front door slams open. In his hurry Red catches the table and jostles the contents on it. Comic does as Red insisted his response to a surprise should be and shortcuts up into Red’s room. Then although it is delayed the little skele stands at guard in front of a startled Blue, who wraps an arm around the little skele’s waist to pull him out of harm’s way if he needs to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings:  
> Little skele's injuries are discussed as well as how he might have gotten them  
> Taking medicine without doctor consultation  
> Anxiety about taking medicine  
> Slight Panic attack  
> Strong reaction to medicine
> 
> Who is breaking down the door?


	46. Chapter 46

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at bottom
> 
> Day Count- 63 (3)
> 
> Our little skele is not doing good. So at least until the day count falls back to just one count be aware of possible hard topics like injuries, panic/anxiety attacks, dissociation, mentions of severe abuse, and other things that could be associated with a recovering kidnap victim. Please consume content safely.

“Fucker…” Red drops back on the couch with a sigh. “Boss, I thought I sent a text.”

“Hours ago.” Fell watches the little skele still on guard in front of Blue. “He seems awake now. So what is the problem?”

“Our door hinges are goin’ ta need replacin’ soon ya keep doin’ that.” Red sits up glaring at Fell. “Comic! It’s Boss!”

“I think I had a heart attack.” Comic shortcuts sprawled onto Reds lap. “Door in one piece?”

“If I come in quietly you accuse me of sneaking around.” Fell locks everything up. “Shouldn’t you get that cleaned up before you ruin another deck of cards.”

Looking at the table Comic sits up so Red can rush off to get a towel after cursing again. Comic collects the cards not yet sitting in the spilled liquids hoping they can salvage the rest. Blue gets to his feet to see where he can be of help when he looks at the little skele. Most of the drinks lay spilled on the table but a good bit had splashed the little skele.

“How did you get that much on you? I didn’t get a drop on me.” Blue giggles at the little skele as he looks down and gives his shirt a discontent look. “Fell, he needs a shower or bath… I don’t think he has had more than a wipe down since his rescue.”

Fell gets the last bit of his armor off and stacked neatly by the door to fix up later. With a heavy sigh Fell walks over and wraps his arm around the little skele’s ribcage to lift him up. The little skele lets out a bit of a whine but goes limp in the taller skeleton’s grip. A bit startled by the reaction Fell looks to the other skeletons then spots the bottle on the ground.

“How many did you give him?” Fell feels the little skele trying to look up at him. “How is he doing on it?”

“One, his magic processed it rather quickly, wit’out a drink.” Red informs chuckling at the high little skele trying to, what looks like, pet his brother’s arm. “Shoul’ we maybe make it half next time?”

“Besides the physical indicators. Just a bit slower.” Comic observes the petting motions as well knowing Fell is trying to ignore it. “I would say relaxed but he was like that this morning before the pill. After a nap with…”

“After wakin’ from his healin’ from baby Blue over there.” Red interrupts. “Have ya seen his hands? We shoul’ a been givin’ him somethin’ since he got here.”

“How bad? I will…” Fell looks down when there is a tiny growl and he readjust the little skele to sit in his arms. “Yes, yes, better? … I will put some bags on them to keep them dry.”

“Beyond shattered.” Red starts patting down cards. “Are you gonna wash him, not Blue?”

“No offense to our guest but washing a fully unclothed person might make him uncomfortable.” Fell sighs. “Not because I think you a child just…”

“Actually, it kind of would.” Blue blushes. “Sorry.”

“Ya can heal.” Red looks seriously at Blue. “We can deal wit’ squeamish situations.”

Blue knew he could focus when healing but not really well outside of that when it came to naked bodies, he had been too sheltered. Comic pats Blue on the back reassuringly. So carrying the little skele with him Fell goes to the kitchen to get some plastic to cover his splints. Then heads to the bathroom to start the bath while he wraps the little skele’s hands, leaving the door cracked in case he is needed.

For the most part the little skele is quite cooperative if a bit on the fidgety side as Fell sits on the edge of the tub. Making sure the water is a comfortable temperature Fell plugs the tub and turns to start prepping the little skele. Several layers of cling wrap applied to the bandages, then removed the soiled shirt to remove the old bandages, and then he reaches for the shorts hesitating to gauge the reaction but there is none. The little skele seems oblivious to the fact most in his position would be shy or embarrassed but he just watches the water fill the tub. Lifting the little skele under his arms he places him the water that currently comes halfway up to his knees and the little skele looks up to his face with a look of utter betrayal.

“Well, did you think we were just going to watch the water?” Fell puts a cap full of bubble bath in the tub. “Sit down and I will get you washed up.”

Uncertainly the little skele looks down at the water and slowly kneels into the water before sliding onto his tailbone. Looking back to Fell for approval, he gets a nod and looks towards the faucet where the water is churning so bubbles are being created. It isn’t as cool as the bathbombs the gang kept stocked up on but it is still pretty. Fell cuts the water off not wanting the little skele drowning on him.

“Any water getting to your hands?” Fell looks to the submerged limbs and gets a shake of the head in response, of course his handwork held. “Then I am going to start washing you off. Just a washcloth, okay?”

The little skele lets Fell start rubbing the cloth against his back for a moment before experimentally reaching for a pile of bubbles. Swiping up the top half of the pile, he just stares not sure what to do now that he has a handful of bubbles. Not knowing what to do with the bubbles he tries blowing them back into the water and jumps as they blow apart like a silent explosion.

“Guess that is better than a bone attack because it looked like Jerry.” Fell mumbles quickly finishing the front of the little skele’s ribcage causing more squirming. “Don’t splash anything outside the tub.”

The water is getting quite murky with detritus as splinters fall out from between small spaces along with dirt and such. Fell has to keep a hand on the little skele as the menstruation is starting to lull him. Pulling the plug, the little skele comes back to himself enough to whimper at the receding warmth. Turning the water back on Fell pulls the shower head down to rinse the little skele off. Getting him steady on his feet the little skele puts a steadying hand on the arm Fell held the shower head in but didn’t place any weight on it.

“Almost done.” Fell runs the water over the little skele’s skull and is surprised with a face full of water when the little skele shakes it off with a whine. “Really now?”

Pulling the little skele up to sit on the side of the tub Fell finishes with the little skele’s feet watching dust wash down the drain. Giving the tub a quick rinse Fell turns off the water and realizes the little skele is already starting to shiver. As Fell gets a towel around him and starts rubbing water from his bones the little skele closes his eyes in contentment

“Blue, do you have his change of clothes?” Fell calls out placing his hand close to the little skele’s neck hoping to keep him used to such a threatening position. “I will get him dressed in here.”

As Blue steps in to hand over the change of clothes the little skele lets out a tiny squeak of a sneeze from where the fluff of the towel had tickled his nasal aperture. Blue tries to ignore the fact that Fell is trying very hard to maintain his glower that had slightly cracked at the adorable sounding sneeze. With the clothes set on the sink Fell turns his attention to unwrapping the cling wrap from the little skele’s hands. The little skele jerks his hands away and burrows in the towel whimpering.

“I am just removing the plastic not the bandages.” Fell explains pulling away the towel so it only covers from the waist down as the little skele examines his hands before holding one out. “Good. You are pretty cooperative as long as I narrate what I am doing.”

Fell is careful taking the cling wrap off not wanting to dislodge the bandaging in the process. Like a responsible adult Fell is cleaning up as he goes and sets a good example for the little skele. So after getting shorts on the little skele and examining the fractures to see if they need re-bandaging, it should be fine for now, he releases the little skele to stand on the tile floor. Fell grabs the shirt and as it unfolds he gives it a disapproving glare.

“Blue, I am disappointed in you.” Fell stands and opens the door. “I am not putting this dreadful thing on him.”

“Wha’ are ya fussin’ for now? Oh, dat is humerous.” Red starts chuckling and notices the little skele keeping a worried eye light on the shirt. “Ya might not like it but don’ destroy ‘is stuff.”

“Sorry, should have warned you about that.” Blue looks a bit guilty. “Apparently, it was a gift, one of the first he ever got, so I thought it would make him feel better… He has been wearing sweaters over the shirts so I didn’t think it would be a big deal.”

“Do you really have a bone to pick or are you going to get the shivering little skeleton into some warm clothes.” Comic grins as Red begins chuckling again while Blue and Fell groan. “He’s looking pretty cold tibia honest.”

“NOOO! Those were bad.” Blue groans and looks to the little skele still watching his shirt. “Here is his sweater, let’s get him in it before those two come up with any more horrible japes.”

“Fine, let’s… I would not have damaged your property. See, no damage. Hands up.” Fell huffs at the concern he had seen on the little skele’s face which is transformed into a happy grin the second the shirt is pulled over him. “He’s not a Swap Sans like you Blue, correct…? Where is his jacket? I swear those things somehow survive no matter the situation.”

“Uh, not sure, I wasn’t given a jacket.” Blue looks through his inventory just to make sure. “I will send a message to see if I just left it behind.”

“If we are going to play games at least pull out something a bit more strategic.” Fell carries the little skele to the couch with him and sits him on his lap placing his hand on the base of his neck. “Something I can play with one hand. I need to start putting magic in the collar. I will be able to do more if it is a slow flow into the collar instead of a bombardment.”

“Alright, Boss, getting’ board of dis anyways.” Red gets up to find what Fell wants and comes back in with a box. “Set it up an’ I’ll get drinks.”

Blue and Fell debate rules as they set up the board while Comic sneaks off to help prepare drinks with Red. They conveniently come back into the living room once the other two are ready to actually begin the game. Without Fell even realizing, or removing the hand that is pushing magic into the collar, the little skele has maneuvered himself into a comfortable laying position watching the board. Although the debating had made the game sound complicated the little skele is pretty sure he could play if he had the mobility or mental focus, he zoned out for several turns after the first three.

When his focus returns the little skele realizes Comic is giving him a sympathetic half grin. The little skele moves just enough to prove he can but he feels heavy and everything aches, except his hands, those hurt. Fell’s hand on his neck suddenly feels as if it is holding him down. He knows he isn’t breathing properly right now, and it is going to alert them, and they are going to…

“Shh, no one is going to hurt you.” Fell carefully runs his thumb over the exposed vertebra around the collar. “With more of my magic taking over the collar, I am freeing you from some of the constraints forced upon you. I didn’t realize how out of it you were.”

“Hey.” Comic taps the table smiling gently at the little skele as he slowly opens and closes his hand, getting the other to breathe steadier. “There we go.”

Knowing he shouldn’t feel tired yet, he hasn’t done anything, the little skele fights sleep. Trying to distract himself from the feeling he focuses on the board, disgruntled at foolish moves he can tell aren’t going to work in the long run. Then pieces are moved way more than they should be, his sockets must of stayed closed longer than he realized.

“Boss, jus’ tell him ta rest.” Red has noticed that the drugs seem to have worn off but it is too early to give him more and the little skele looks exhausted. “He’s exhausted, an’ healin’, he needs ta sleep more.”

“Hmm, is that what you are doing?” Fell examines the little skele, noting the telltale signs he looks out for on Red. “While recovering, although I don’t tend to need to, it is acceptable to need more rest… Sleep, it’s okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings:  
> Under the influence of strong pain killers.  
> Beginnings of panic attack, deterred.


	47. Chapter 47

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at bottom
> 
> Day Count- 63 (3)
> 
> Our little skele is not doing good. So at least until the day count falls back to just one count be aware of possible hard topics like injuries, panic/anxiety attacks, dissociation, mentions of severe abuse, and other things that could be associated with a recovering kidnap victim. Please consume content safely.

“Should what Fell is doing make him warm?” Blue speaks in a hushed voice. “…Does he feel warm to you?”

“Shit, yeah, he is burnin’ up.” Red places his hand on the little skele’s head and tries to ignore the fact the little skele is leaning into his touch. “Fever, let me ask Boss wha’ we got.”

The little skele whimpers as the cool hand is removed from his skull and starts shivering. Blue continues healing as he waits for the others to return. It is Fell who is the first to return drying his hands, having left Red to tend to the stove while he stepped away. Reaching his limit anyways Blue halts his healing and let’s Fell closer to the little skele.

“Hmm, it is a bit worrisome but developing a fever during this period isn’t uncommon, usually happens in skeleton monster now that I think about it.” Fell runs a testing hand over the little skele finding him warm all over. “This is the forty-fourth collar I have removed… the thirteenth from another AU, twelfth skeleton and just of the skeletons eight developed a fever out of the eleven I worked on.”

“Ya know dat is why Fishbitch calls ya a nerd.” Red calls from the kitchen.

Fell would have started yelling back at Red if the little skele hadn’t decided now is a good time to start trying to stir. Blue had left the little skele curled up on his side, only pulling his arms out enough not to bleed any of the healing magic into the other’s Soul. The little skele is hot, and everything aches with even the slightest of movement but he still feels too tired to even let out another whimper. So looking around through half lidded sockets the little skele notices the two standing over him.

“Dinner is almost ready and then we can give you some more medicine to help with this fever and any other pain you might be in.” Fell huffs for a second and then tugs at the little skele’s sweater. “Is this too warm for you?”

The little skele gets stuck in his head as he tries to debate between cooling off and potentially offending the monster trying to remove the collar from his neck. It had seemed to upset the other quite a bit earlier and he still didn’t seem too pleased with the situation. Would the warmth get as bad as last time, that had been so bad and no one had come to help.

“I think he is overheating.” Comic comes down the stairs pocketing his phone. “You have interesting style but you are clothes minded.”

“I do not care about his shirt. He is under my protection and I am trying to tend to his fever.” Fell stops to think for a moment. “That was a pun wasn’t it?”

“I never said anything about his shirt pal.” Comic collapses on the opposite end of the couch. “My bro says hi by the way. Wanted to spar or something but I told him you had your hands full… Unless you want to sneak away for a bit, these forced days off drive me crazy.”

“It is not a matter of anyone’s opinion on the matter.” Fell turns back to the, half-panting, little skele; it is no longer about whether he is too warm but about permission it seems. “Do you want me to help you out of your sweater?”

Nodding his head, the little skele tries to sit himself up to make it easier for Fell to get to his sweater. It doesn’t really work and Blue helps him into a sitting position. Noticing the little skele is exhausting quickly Fell pulls the sweater quickly off all but the other’s hands, which he does gingerly. Blue readjust the little skele to lay his head on the armrest on his back.

“Do you mind getting some cold compresses and some drinking water?” Fell moves to sit in front of the little skele. “I need to see if I can adjust his collar or figure out if it is even the problem… Permission to touch?”

Fell could feel the little skele radiating heat as soon as he sat down. Yet the collar is filled with ice cold magic influenced by the LV the monsters who had put it there possessed. The collar has no orders placed on it that should cause the little skele to be suffering like this and the magic itself seems neutral against the little skele. Either the little skele has caught some bug or all of the stress has finally caught up to him.

Blue places a bowl on the table with a bit of ice and water before handing over a glass of ice water for Fell to help the little skele drink. Fell has to slow the little skele down to drink the glass in moderate sips but places the left over ice on the coffee table when the little skele refused it. When Fell lays him back down Blue wrings out the compress and places it on the little skele’s forehead, it is almost instantly warmed up.

“I am going to check on dinner.” Fell stands. “Once he eats we can give him some fever reducer. For now, he should relax, more water if he needs it, try not to cool him off too quickly.”

“Of course Fell.” Blue nods as he re-soaks the compress. “I have dealt with fevers before too.”

“Can’t catch a break can he?” Comic watches and could almost swear he can see steam from the cold compress as it touches warm bone. “Shouldn’t his magic be sweating to cool him down?”

The little skele shakes his head quickly making himself dizzy and a bit nauseated. He might not be a danger to the other skeletons in the house but they didn’t know that. If they see his magic, they will tell Ink and he will be in trouble. They might decide not to take off the collar, then what would he do. Nightmare might not let him come back if the collar isn’t removed since it tells everyone he is someone else’s...

“Here, drink some more water.” Blue held a full cup and sits the little skele up. “No over thinking, you Sans personalities…”

“I take offense ta dat.” Red escapes the kitchen and sits next to Comic. “I do very lil thinkin’.”

“I can believe that…” Blue deadpans at Red as Comic starts laughing. “Most the time.”

“Yer a little shit.” Red informs Blue before returning his gaze to the little skele. “Can ya circulate magic? It coul’ help.”

“Language, Red, you are going to be a bad influence.” Blue puffs out his cheeks. “I haven’t sensed any of his magic from him since I picked him up.”

The little skele is hoping they will debate the topic amongst themselves but Red’s eyes turn back to him questioningly and insistent. Sluggishly, sharp aching pain shooting through anything that moved, the little skele reaches his bandaged hand to paw at his throat where the collar is, to hopefully get his point across. It isn’t the only reason he doesn’t circulate his magic but it is the main one, the other being that the more magic he kept from his hands the less they hurt.

“Dat collar is specially designed ta be able ta control the amount of magic regulated ta da body but Boss woul’ a already at least lessened its effect.” Red explains. “Ya need ta give it a try. It’ll help ta cool ya down.”

Everything already hurt and now he wants him to feel it more. The little skele whines falling over into the back of the couch, which at least feels cool for a moment. Noticing everyone still watching him for any results he sits back up half tempted to fake it but the heat is so uncomfortable. So he tries, for the first time since that first disaster during his capture, to get his magic circulating properly. Almost instantly, he feels himself cooling down though he is still warm. It would have been alright except around the collar, where it feels like electricity flowing around his C4 vertebra. He whimpers pawing around the severe discomfort but doesn’t stop what he is told to do.

“Don’ do dat. Let me see.” Red leans away from Comic and feels at the collar knowing Boss wouldn’t have put any defense back on it. “Damn, why woul’ some’ne put such hostile magic inta a collar fer a pet… It ain’t da collar. Yer lines er damaged… Fuck, yer hot.”

“Hey, am I getting too old for you.” Comic teases making Red flush his name’s sake. “You never tell me that anymore.”

“You two are insufferable.” Blue whines. “You should not canoodle in front of someone so impressionable.”

“Everyone to the table, dinner is ready.” Fell calls from the kitchen. “Blue, is he alright to eat at the table.”

Blue had turned to the kitchen to listen to Fell but looks back to the little skele to determine what to do with him. The little skele motions to the kitchen wanting to join them at the table to eat considering he is already going to be putting someone out considering he needs assistance eating still. Comic and Red are getting up as Blue helps the little skele up to his feet. As soon as Blue lets go of the little skele he wobbles and looks like he is passing out.

“Oye! Ya trin’ ta crack yer skull?” Red catches the little skele by his humorous. “I know I’m gorgeous and beauty is pain but da scar ain’t wha’ makes me so desirable.”

“Pfft… He’s so confused.” Comic snorts as the little skele looks up at Red head tilted fever fogging his mind more than usual. “He’s so short it went right over his head.”

Red guffaws for a second at the joke then turns back to the wobbly little skele looking unsteadily up at him. Fumbling for a moment Red lifts the little ball of heat up to sit on his arm, he is so light. Having no strength, the little skele can only lean against Red’s chest as he is carried to the dining room. Waiting for Comic to sit down Red drops the little skele into his lap with a huge grin.

“Ya get ta feed him.” Red volunteers plopping down next to him. “I can feed ya if yer hands er full.”

“Yeah, you wouldn’t know what to do with someone not trying to nip at you between bites.” Comic teases both of the Fell monsters. “He’s old enough I don’t even have to worry about a Papyrus sized mess.”

“I did not nip.” Fell says defensively placing sandwiches next to bowls. “From scratch tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.”

Soup, the little skele perked his head up looking at the bowl in front of him. He could manage a bowl of soup like he had that cup of tea at Undyne’s house. Distracted by merciless teasing Comic doesn’t do anything to stop the little skele from readjusting but does unconsciously put steadying hands on him to keep him from falling. Maneuvering his unsteady arms carefully around the bowl, he is really shaky, he pulls it close enough to press against his teeth. Once that is managed he slips a hand under the bowl so it tips just enough to get the contents slowly to his mouth.

“Woah, hey.” Comic suddenly takes notice of the little skele. “I’ll help.”

“Holy hell, dat growl sounded like yer mangy cat.” Red burst out laughing when Comic tries to take the bowl from the little skele who unconsciously growled protectively. “Ya act like we starve ya.”

“We couldn’t wake him for lunch.” Blue reminds. “Plus he has only had light meals, he probably feels half starved.”

“Here, try this.” Comic manages to dip the corner of sandwich in the remains of the soup and the little skele lets the bowl back down. “… Wait… Hey Fell, can I get a knife to cut these smaller.”

“Yes, that would be easier for him wouldn’t it.” Fell gets up. “I will get drinks as well, actual drinks not your ridiculous condiments.”

“Thanks, bud, really appreciate it.” Comic waits until Fell is out of ear shot. “You know this isn’t like Fell’s lasagna, it is alright if you taste it… It is actually really good.”

“Wait, have ya not been tastin’ anythin’ we’ve given ya?” Red balks at the idea of never tasting. “I worked really hard on dat toast dis mornin’.”

The little skele shrinks a bit from the thought of offending Red before he catches the wink telling him the other is just teasing him. His head is too fuzzy to be trying to decipher all of this. Focusing the little skele manages to get his tongue to form but it sends another round of the intense electrical feeling through that vertebra. All at the table had been watching him and he slightly jolts at that realization, making sure to keep his mouth closed so no one actually saw his magic.

“You good there?” Comic had felt the jerk and made sure not to drop the little skele. “Let’s try this again, try a bite?”

Comic had torn off a small piece since Fell isn’t back yet and offered it to the little skele. Hesitantly, everyone is still staring, the little skele takes the bite from Comic. It is really good and the little skele releases his hold on his bowl so Comic could dip more of the sandwich for him. Blue suddenly starts laughing and the little skele looks to him to figure out why before looking back to the other two skeletons staring at him.

“You, you would think you two had never seen anything adorable before…” Blue tries to stop laughing at the reaction the little skele had managed to get out of the other two skeletons. “I wish I could have seen you two react to his sneeze earlier if that is how you are reacting to him now.”

“Ya woul’ think he’s never had a grilled cheese sandwich b’fore.” Red rubs his brow glancing the shake of the little skele’s head. “Wait, never… wha’ ‘bout tomato soup?”

“What is everyone waiting for, the food is going to get cold?” Fell passes out drinks and places the knife close to Comic. “Is there something wrong with the food?”

“He’s never had grilled cheese before.” Comic points at the little skele before starting on cutting up the remainder of the sandwiches in front of him. “So you have set some really high standards for his next sandwich.”

“He hadn’t ever had lasagna either.” Fell recalls. “Let me guess… you have had spaghetti.”

Sitting back from the table the little skele manages a bit of a shrug no longer interested in eating. Comic readjusts his grip on the little skele still holding the next bite for him but notices how dim the other’s eye lights have gone. When he offers the sandwich the little skele takes it with far less enthusiasm than he had previously shown. Seeming to notice Blue gets up and comes around the table.

“I was told not to pry.” Blue reminds gently petting the little skele’s skull noticing all the signs of crying but the tears. “You are okay. You don’t have to answer questions like that if you don’t want to, just the important things we need to know for helping you.”

“I’mma grab dat medicine for ‘im.” Red disappears and then pops back up next to Comics chair. “So half a pain pill, and how much woul’ ya say he needs a dis.”

“Read the instructions.” Fell demands rolling his eyes. “Let me see the bottle.”

“See it?” Red dangles it from his claws before quickly setting it on the table. “Oh, fuck.”

Fell slams his hands on the table as he stands up and Red shortcuts back out of the room. Blue immediately tries to go into protective mode figuring the outburst will upset the little skele but there isn’t so much as a flinch from him. So Blue unwraps his arms from around the little skele’s skull and shoulders to get a good look at the exhausted looking skeleton. Comic reluctantly sits the little skele in Red’s vacated seat, the little skele is putting off enough heat to warm the house. As he grabs more food, Fell reaches over for the fever reducer.

“Lazy buffoon.” Fell fills the small cup that came with the medicine and places it in Comic’s reach. “That should do for now. Every eight hours as needed but I doubt the fever will last the night.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings:  
> Fuzzy minded due to fever  
> Pain due to pushing injury


	48. Chapter 48

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at bottom
> 
> Day Count- 64 (4)
> 
> Our little skele is not doing good. So at least until the day count falls back to just one count be aware of possible hard topics like injuries, panic/anxiety attacks, dissociation, mentions of severe abuse, and other things that could be associated with a recovering kidnap victim. Please consume content safely.
> 
> Enter another character.

“Ah, you are waking up on your own. Hmm, maybe there truly is hope for you after all.” Fell places his hand on the little skele’s skull. “Fever broke while you were sleeping and doesn’t seem to be coming back. Good, the others will be sleeping awhile longer, how about I make us some breakfast for now and will deal with them later.”

The little skele uncurls himself from the corner of the couch he had managed to tuck himself into while he slept. Fell helps him get into his sweater. With a nod he gets up to follow Fell into the kitchen knowing he still can’t be of any help but still enjoying watching the process of ingredients being turned into a meal. Noticing his little shadow Fell leads him to the stove and lifts him to sit on the counter next to it. More awake now the little skele watches excitedly as Fell grabs the ingredients.

“Have you ever had an omelet?” Fell watches the little skele nod looking at all the ingredients. “Good, look over these and figure out what you want in yours.”

Fell begins cracking a few eggs and whisking them to give the other time to look over the abundant ingredients. Figuring he has given the other enough time Fell starts picking up one ingredient at a time for the little skele to approve or deny. When he has the omelet in the pan cooking he looks to the little skele as he leans in to watch him.

“This is a well-balanced omelet.” Fell flicks his wrist to flip the omelet, the little skele silently awes at the feat. “Nice choice.”

The little skele is practically glowing under the praise and Fell quickly returns his attention to the pan… so he doesn’t burn the eggs. Sliding the finished omelet onto a plate Fell shows it to the little skele who nods impressed at the perfectly cooked omelet. Setting it aside to cool just a bit Fell fixes up another mixture for his own omelet. They pass the time it takes to make his food in companionable silence, just the sizzling of the pan and the wind outside making any noise.

“Right. Now to enjoy them.” Fell grabs both plates with one hand and the little skele in his other arm taking all to the table. “At least you can’t ask to drown your food in some obscene condiment.”

\----------

“This is why I turn mine off.” Red grumbles at Comic as they slip into the dining room. “Ne’er answer a call from yer Paps next ta my head again.”

“I didn’t look to see who it was.” Comic yawns checking his phone. “At least he found something to do today so he will only check in by text every hour instead of calling since it is his day off.”

“Your breakfast is on the stove.” Fell stands next to the table with the bottle of pain meds. “Still warm.”

“Awesome.” Red moves to retrieve their food. “I precut several for him.”

“Yes, I found those but he is not very readily taking it.” Fell glares down at the sulking little skele. “What aversion do you have to taking these?”

“Do you think he is worried about using up your provisions?” Comic tries to stifle another yawn as he lays his head down. “Red had to say something about not offering if it wasn’t alright, and no strings.”

“If we didn’t have the provisions I would not have taken on the responsibility of getting that collar off of you and Red wouldn’t be allowing Comic to stay without the ability to care for him.” Fell rubs at his sockets as the little skele’s skull sinks between his shoulders at the other’s apparent annoyance. “You are in pain and if not you are not circulating your magic properly which is an issue… Now, you are going to circulate your magic so you continue to heal and you are going to take this so you are more comfortable while doing so.”

The little skele is very aware of all Fell had to tell him but something is nagging at him. It feels like he is anxiously awaiting another scheduled test. His childish thoughts are telling him if he held off long enough maybe the test could be delayed a few more days, the doctors had never canceled one completely, and Papyrus is usually mad at him during the entire delay. He doesn’t want to be locked in a room by himself waiting for the test.

With a defeated glance up at Fell’s determined glare the little skele let his shoulders slump. His teeth parts just enough for Fell to slip the pill in and he quickly absorbs it. He doesn’t look back up at anyone to see their reactions to his obedience. It had taken him too long to obey so it isn’t like anyone would be pleased with him.

“I need to do a patrol.” Fell informs as Red comes back in carrying two plates. “Can you handle watching him that long without incident?”

“I thought yes’erday went pretty well.” Red passes a plate covered in ketchup to Comic. “We’ll have him rest up for Blue to heal up when he gets here.”

“Why must you ruin my divine cuisine with your cursed condiments?” Fell watches Red take a bite of the mustard covered eggs keeping eye contact with his brother. “Come with me, I have to keep you from their corrupting influence for as long as possible.”

The little skele carefully turns in his chair to slide down to the floor not noticing the amused chuckles the others try to stifle at the adorableness. Having completely left the seat the little skele feels unbalanced and wobbles a bit as he attempts to follow Fell. As Fell begins strapping on armor he glances the little skele swaying precariously as he examines the yet to be donned pieces of armor. Adjusting the piece he has started, he places a steadying hand on the other’s back motioning to the entertainment center. A small whine lets him know the little skele is quickly slipping out of it and he needs to be direct.

“Find a movie and I will start it for you.” Fell watches the little skele glance at the pile of movies and then back to the door. “You cannot come with me… Not that I think you cannot handle yourself but I want to make this a quick patrol and the canines will definitely want to check up on you.”

Although the little skele moves to instantly follow instructions it takes several moments for him to lift his feet from the ground for the first few steps. Once the other is in motion Fell returns to putting on his armor. A clatter gains Fell’s attention and he whips around to see the stack of movies in front of a nervous little skele is knocked over.

“It is fine, I need to organize them anyways.” Fell rolls his eye lights as the little skele relaxes and turns back to the movies. “Just don’t hurt yourself.”

The little skele becomes hyper focused now trying not to make any more loud noises or a bigger mess than he already has. So he completely misses the exuberant knocking that startles Fell who is standing close to the door. Only knowing a few people who knock that way and the fact that the door is still standing Fell already knows who is there and braces himself to answer. Unlocking the door loudly, Fell opens the door to see Comic’s brother Vanilla smiling widely from under a dark cloak that Blue had managed to talk him into wearing. Fell’s feeling of gratefulness is quickly dashed though.

“MORNING POINTY ME.” Vanilla greets way too excitedly. “IT HAS BEEN AWHILE.”

“In.” Fell pulls his double in and Blue quickly follows. “Comic!”

“OH, MY BROTHER IS STILL HERE?” Vanilla pulls his hood down. “I AM ACTUALLY HERE TO ASSIST BLUE WITH SOME HEALING.”

“Right, Blue did ask if he could bring someone to help him speed up his healing.” Fell recalls the texts. “He is over there. He has eaten and taken some pain killers.”

“Bro?” Comic stands in the doorway to the kitchen. “What are you doing here? I thought you were going to be busy helping out a buddy.”

“YES, BLUE ASKED ME TO HELP WITH SOME HEALING, BROTHER.” Vanilla repeats. “DIDN’T KNOW WHERE I WAS GOING TILL WE GOT TO THE MACHINE. I THOUGHT YOU AND RED WOULD BE OFF CANOODLING SOMEWHERE OR SLEEPING.”

“Just finishing breakfast.” Comic looks back to Red a bit uncomfortable with his brother being in a Fell verse, he is too nice for his own good. “How long…”

“GO FINISH YOUR BREAKFAST BROTHER, IT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY BUT THAT DOES NOT CONDONE SKIPPING THE OTHERS.” Vanilla finally finishes getting the cloak off. “I NEED TO GO INTRODUCE MYSELF TO THE PATIENT PROPERLY.”

“He’s skittish, so maybe more of an inside voice.” Comic gently smiles knowing he has been dismissed and his brother’s focus is soon to be completely elsewhere. “Blue, you are responsible for making sure he doesn’t go anywhere else.”

“Huh, oh, of course. Sorry, he said he called you so I thought you knew.” Blue is distracted by his phone buzzing with texts. “He is just one of the best healers I know and I thought with his help maybe we could cut the healing time in half.”

Fell is still standing by the door adjusting his scarf around his neck. Vanilla hangs up his cloak on the coat rack and turns to study the little skele sorting movies in front of the TV who still hasn’t seemed to realize others have come into the house. As Vanilla removes his snow covered boots he is taken with how much the little skele looks like a much younger version of his own brother, he knows they are essentially the same monster but the resemblance is enough to place him as a classic timeline. Blue moves to introduce them but his phone goes off again. So Vanilla gives Blue an understanding smile and moves to do his own introductions. Comic reluctantly returns to his breakfast at the table with Red.

“GREETINGS.” Vanilla has lowered his voice but still sees the little skele jolt and go completely rigid. “I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS BUT YOU MAY… UM, ARE YOU….”

_ARE YOU DELIBERATELY BEING STUBBORN. YOU KNOW THE RULES SUBJECT 5-4-N-5, NO CONTACT WITH ANYONE. ARE YOU TRYING TO HURT SOMEONE? YOU KNOW YOU ARE DANGEROUS. MAYBE A BIT OF TIME IN YOUR ROOM WILL HELP YOU REMEMBER TO KEEP YOUR DISTANCE. YOU ARE JUST LUCKY IT WAS A GUARD AND NOT SOMEONE WEAKER THAT YOU BUMPED INTO._

The little skele tries to breath but his chest feels constricted. His brother is going to be disappointed in him again. He has to show he can still follow the rules; his brother will not punish him on hearsay alone if he follows the rules. Then he remembers the other give a ways that he currently wore that his observant brother would notice; his bandaged hands and the collar. Making sure his sleeves fall over his hands he bunches the front of his sweater up to cover the collar, even if it does expose a bit of spine.

A hand moving to grab his shoulder pulls the little skele from sorting out what he needs to do to appease his brother. Knowing he shouldn’t be touched he moves just enough to make the reaching hand miss but unbalances and falls heavily onto his side. Quickly but unsteadily the little skele gets to his feet to put distance between them. Unable to see how disappointed his brother is in him this time the little skele can’t raise his head.

“It’s okay.” Blue tries to pull the little skele from his spiral, phone still in hand from reading the last text that came about ten seconds too late. “Vanilla, could you go to the other room while I calm him down. You didn’t do anything, he just… I can’t explain right now.”

Fell stood by the door watching trying to figure out what has triggered this episode. Looking highly distressed at the little skele’s reaction Vanilla moves to leave as Blue tries again to touch the little skele and get his attention. With a definite _warning_ growl, the little skele stumbles back to a corner unable to stop his stumbling he hits the wall hard and slides to the floor. With hazy eye lights the little skele tries to gauge how much trouble he is in with Papyrus, his stiff stature is about all he can make out and it isn’t promising if Papyrus is preparing to take action. With a whine of distress, the little skele tries to curl up smaller, everyone else just needs to stay away. Yet more people are coming into the room.

“Wha’s wit’ da growlin’?” Red asks seeing Blue and Vanilla standing close to the TV with the little skele tucked in a corner. “Who is he growlin’ at?”

“Me.” Blue doesn’t pursue the escaped skeleton. “He is reacting sort of like the first time he met Red.”

“Ta Vanilla?” Red looks at said skeleton. “That doesn’ make sense… Let me try Blue.”

Looking unsure Blue takes a step back to give Red room to go around him to get to the distraught little skele. Hands in pockets Red walks loudly over the little skele and looks down at him. The little skele doesn’t seem to realize he is hyperventilating as he continues to try to keep the collar hidden with one arm and the other half guarding his skull. Slowly so the little skele has time to see what he is doing Red crouches down pulling his hands from his pockets as he did so and then starts bringing a hand up. A loud growl freezes him in his tracks.

“Hey, who da ya think yer threatenin’?” Red asks hoping to startle the little skele out of this episode but he only curls up more defensively with another growl. “Knock it off.”

“Red, he’s just scared.” Blue doesn’t want the progress the two had to fall apart now. “I think I have an idea, I just need the room for a bit.”

“Blue, if you know what triggered this it would be best if you shared.” Fell watches the little skele pressing himself away from Red into the wall. “If a soft verse Papyrus can set him off he has a long recovery ahead of him.”

“It isn’t… I can’t explain, it isn’t my place.” Blue struggles to explain. “His… Please just give me a chance to do this without…”

“OF COURSE BLUE.” Vanilla turns to leave the room. “SHOULDN’T THIS BE ABOUT THE LITTLE ONE, NOT OUR CURIOSITY? IF BLUE CAN CALM HIM, THAT SHOULD BE OUR FIRST PRIORITY.”

Irritated Red moves too quickly and receives another growl that he just tisks impatiently following Vanilla into the kitchen. Comic is checking over his brother as soon as they are out of sight of the living room. Fell looks to the locked front door and sighs knowing he can’t leave with his ward like this even if Blue does have everything under control. So Fell goes to make sure the others give Blue the privacy he has requested knowing his brother is going to be obnoxiously curious in this mood.

“Okay.” Blue takes a deep breath pulling out his phone. “Let’s try this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings:  
> Medicine hesitancy due to medical experimentation  
> Medicine use that causes high feeling  
> Major panic attack  
> Disconnect/dissociate from reality during panic attack
> 
> Blue has a plan he just hopes everyone cooperates.  
> Everyone knows who was texting Blue earlier right?


	49. Chapter 49

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at bottom
> 
> Day Count- 64 (4)
> 
> Our little skele is not doing good. So at least until the day count falls back to just one count be aware of possible hard topics like injuries, panic/anxiety attacks, dissociation, mentions of severe abuse, and other things that could be associated with a recovering kidnap victim. Please consume content safely.

“I certainly hope that growl isn’t directed at me.” Nightmare chides almost playfully when the little skele growls at whatever is being pushed against the side of his skull but whimpers at the voice he hears. “Shh, you are okay. Your br… your Papyrus has not left your AU… Now, I need you to calm down so Blue can help you. So are you good?”

The little skele whimpers because it sounds like Nightmare is already trying to say goodbye and he doesn’t want him to do that. Blue breathes in relief when the little skele drops his arms and isn’t curled up in the corner so tightly but has to quickly stifle the giggle as the little skele tries lean into the phone like he is trying to snuggle up to someone. A sad sigh comes through the phones speaker and the little skele stops to listen. He could pretend not to listen so the other would stay on longer but then he would be bothering him.

“I know you are not having a great time and want to come… back but you need to stay put awhile longer.” Nightmare speaks soothingly not knowing the little skele has begun shedding tears at being told this. “You need to be strong. I know you can. I need to hang up now.”

The little skele nods forgetting Nightmare can’t see him but pulling from the phone all the same to deflate in the corner. Blue looks to his phone to see the other side has hung up and quickly starts looking through his phone for something else. When music starts playing from the speakers he sets the phone next to the little skele before carefully reaching a hand up to the others skull to lightly pet. Although the little skele doesn’t pull away or flinch he closes his eyes tightly letting the tears continue to fall.

“Blue…” Vanilla speaks very softly, something that actually surprises Blue since the other had never heard him do so. “May I?”

“Um, I am not sure.” Blue looks unsure as the little skele brings his arms up to wrap around himself. “Maybe just talking for now.”

“Hello again.” Vanilla watches the little skele start to shiver. “My nickname is Vanilla. Is it okay if I sit with you?”

Nodding the little skele continues to keep himself small and not do anything that would cause him to bump the others. Looking over his shoulder Blue sees Comic and Red standing in the doorway into the kitchen the latter still on edge like he is waiting to break up a fight. Blue could really have used Red’s help but not at the risk of worsening the situation with Red’s attitude, that growling really set Red off for some reason. So carefully Blue gets to his feet.

“I need to go talk to Red.” Blue explains to the little skele. “Can Vanilla sit with you?”

“Although I already have a bunch of friends I can always welcome a new one into my great company.” Vanilla tries to invite warmly but falters just a bit when the little skele continues to be wary. “If you want, that is.”

“His mind is still muddled; you might have to ask later.” Blue informs when they only get a confused tilt of the head from the little skele. “Hmm, yes or no questions. Growling just means he doesn’t like something and whimpering is sorry.”

Vanilla watches Blue leave to talk to the others glancing back to make sure nothing has changed. The little skele is attempting to scrub the tears from his face when Vanilla looks back to him. It is the first time Vanilla had seen someone scared of him and he couldn’t say it made him feel powerful like some of his Fell verse counterparts had claimed.

“If he’s scared of some’ne like Vanilla, he needs ta see they’re different.” Red huffs. “Like I did, when ya said he confused me for a mafia verse.”

Vanilla quickly put things together from everything he had seen and heard so far. Now with an idea in mind he switches out his body armor for a sweater he kept in his inventory, never knew when a friend would invite him to dinner or such. Then the hard part getting the little skele’s attention on him long enough to see the difference without triggering another episode, he didn’t know what made them the same.

“If you are cold I can go grab you a blanket.” Vanilla watches the little skele wrap his arms back around himself and shake his head. “Your sweater is probably warm enough… I bet it is soft like mine. Would you mind if helped dry your face a bit?”

Although the little skele shifts his gaze around the empty floor between them like he is looking for the answers Vanilla doesn’t get a no. So carefully he reaches over to clean a tear trail from the little skele’s cheek with the thumb of his gloved hand. He can feel the little skele stiffen just a bit but doesn’t push him away. Getting the last of the residual tears, Vanilla shifts to put his other hand on the little skele’s other cheek. When he attempts to get the little skele to look up he freezes at the sound of a growl but doesn’t let go until he is pulled back.

“BROTHER.” Vanilla raises his voice as he looks over his shoulder. “WE WERE…”

“Come here.” Red grabs the little skele’s arm pulling him up. “We need ta talk more ‘bout this growlin’.”

The little skele whimpers but doesn’t pull against the grasp on his arm. His eye lights are gone, he hadn’t meant to. Then he is grabbed from behind as someone wraps long arms around his rib cage and holds him protectively against their own. Too scared to move the little skele just continues whimpering hoping to find mercy.

“SORRY, I DO NOT KNOW WHAT CAME OVER ME.” Vanilla looks down to the little skele he is clutching to his chest and then to the startled Red. “HE JUST LOOKED SCARED AND…”

Vanilla is startled when he glances back down to the little skele silently bawling in his arms. Worried he has hurt the other he tries to release him but the little bandaged hands come up to hold him in place. No longer sure what to do Vanilla looks to his brother who is staring unsurely at the whole scene.

“WHAT IS GOING ON IN HERE?” Fell walks in with a steaming mug of hot chocolate. “RED YOU WERE NOT TO LEAVE THE KITCHEN.”

“He was growlin’ at Vanilla.” Red mutters. “Jus’ checkin’ ta make sure he is safe.”

“HIS GROWLING SETS OFF YOUR INSTINCTS TO DEFEND, IT IS WHY I SEPARATED YOU.” Fell growls. “HIS GROWLING MEANS ONE THING NO MATTER HOW HE PITCHES IT AND IF YOU HAVEN’T NOTICED HE HAS NOT LASHED OUT EVEN WHEN ATTACKED! YOU EVEN TOLD HIM TO GROWL MORE WHEN HE NEEDED TO. SO WHAT. ARE. YOU. DOING?”

“I reacted first.” Comic admits scratching the back of his skull. “Tried to pull Paps away from the kid.”

“AND HOW DID HE REACT?” Fell is showing no mercy to either. “OR WERE YOU TOO FOCUSED ON PROTECTING YOUR BROTHER FROM…”

Fell takes notice of the little skele trying to hide away from all the yelling. The whimpering is very quiet now and didn’t seem to be directed at any one person; maybe everyone or the world. With a deep breath Fell directs a harsh disappointed scowl at the half chastised Sanses and steps over to Vanilla to assist in the more urgent matter.

“Hush now, it is alright. You didn’t do anything.” Fell notices the little skele hugging the arms around him and shoots a warning glare to Vanilla. “This soft poof does give nice hugs doesn’t he?”

“I GIVE GREAT HUGS.” Vanilla readjusts the little skele into a more proper hug and feels the tiny skull rub appreciatively against his sweater. “OH, CAN YOU SEE THE DIFFERENCE NOW?”

The little skele nods, his brother would never… With that thought, the little skele shuts down. Vanilla feels it as the wire tight tension complete dissolves from the bones wrapped in his embrace. It is very disconcerting and he quickly gathers up the entire skeleton in his arms, which isn’t hard, he is so very small. Fell notices Vanilla’s sudden panic and then the state the little skele is in.

“BLUE!” The outburst from Fell draws the attention of Red and Comic. “SOMETHING’S WRONG.”

“What happened?” Blue rushes over. “Have you CHECKED him? It might be that Soul damage I will need to examine that soon anyways.”

CHECK

?pet?

HP 10/10

LV 1

EXP 0

ATK 0

DEF -

Too much

Disappointing, can’t do anything right

-

-

“Damn, his name was changing yesterday; it is always a really good sign when a forced title can fade away.” Fell places his hand on the collar; it is ice cold with the previous owner’s magic making a push to not be overrun and... “Blue, my room, I think the collar is leaking magic into his Soul and I don’t know why.”

Fell moves to take the little skele but Vanilla rises to his feet to take the little skele up to the room himself. Blue takes no notice of who is following him as he leads the way up the stairs. As Fell decides to let Vanilla do as he thinks he needs, he notices Red and Comic moving to follow as well. Although he knows he can’t physically stop them if they really want to go into his room, Fell steps into their path. Both of them look at him surprised.

“What makes you think that I would let either of you around his exposed Soul after the stunt you just pulled?” Fell stares them down. “Comic you lectured Red about pulling you away from a harmless broken little skeleton, so why were you suddenly so afraid… Red, you knew he was in an episode on top of having taken those painkillers… Were you going to punish him for that?”

“Tsch, fine, be in the kitchen.” Red shoves his hands in his pockets and looks away. “Wha’ e’er.”

“Take Comic with you.” Fell instructs. “As soon as we know his Soul is alright I will see if they will heal him down here so he can protect his brother from that horribly frightening little monster.”

Fell watches Comic jerk as if physically hit by those words before Red throws an arm over his shoulders to lead him away. Then he turns to go upstairs to see if the others need his help since the collar is involved. As he opens the door he finds a blushing Vanilla facing the wall wringing his hands worriedly. While Blue is examining the little skele’s Soul on the bed.

“Why don’t you wait downstairs?” Fell offers. “You can do his healing session down there.”

“I didn’t really give him warning before I pulled out the Soul.” Blue admits as Vanilla rushes out of the room. “I think this looks worse than it is… If this magic is residual magic from emotional manipulation it might flare up when he isn’t feeling very strong… He might be repressing the magic himself even.”

“May I?” Fell steps up to the bed to get a better look. “I would like to see if I can figure out how the collar fits in to this.”

Blue releases the Soul to hover over the little skele’s chest as he moved to the other side of the bed to continue to keep watch. Moving forward Fell feels himself jolt at the empty socket stare the little skele is giving the ceiling but pulls his attention from it to get a look at the Soul. The magic pattern completely spread through the Soul but the magic is weaker, so just as Blue said; looks worse than it is. Upon further examination and getting his hand on the collar as well Fell notices something.

“No wonder. The residual magic is recharging the collar.” Fell doesn’t like how still the little skele is, he looks like he is falling. “Blue, can you wake him?”

“He’s not asleep… he, well, he pulled his magic from everything but his vitals.” Blue runs his hand over the little skele’s skull. “He can’t see, hear, feel… You saw his check, too much. I did not…”

“MY APOLOGIES, BUT MAY I COME BACK IN?” Vanilla knocks at the door and Blue returns the little skele’s Soul to his chest before Vanilla comes in. “I APOLOGIZE FOR MY UH, SQUEAMISHNESS EARLIER. I COULDN’T SIT STILL KNOWING I MIGHT OFFER SOME ASSISTANCE THOUGH AND I MAY HAVE NOTICED SOMETHING.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings:  
> Little skele stays in a panic/anxiety state for most of the chapter  
> Red lashes out a bit  
> Fell chastises harshly (verbally)


	50. Chapter 50

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at bottom
> 
> Day Count- 64 (4)
> 
> Our little skele is not doing good. So at least until the day count falls back to just one count be aware of possible hard topics like injuries, panic/anxiety attacks, dissociation, mentions of severe abuse, and other things that could be associated with a recovering kidnap victim. Please consume content safely.

“I told you, I am not allowed to ask.” Blue insists. “It is a condition of trust. His AU of origin will not be discussed.”

“Blue, if what Vanilla is saying is true, it needs to be reported if he is able to leave his AU he is under the protections of…” Fell sighs when Blue looks frustrated by the circumstances but unwilling to budge. “Can you assure us that he is at least somewhere away from his brother?”

“I could not imagine hurting my brother. The resets are bad enough but I cannot be something I am not.” Vanilla stares at the little skele looking as if he is just an anatomy skeleton for a classroom, very unnerving. “I have been a sounding board for many Sans and Papyrus, it surprised me how many felt unworthy of their brother’s care and would do anything to show them… they were so scarred but it is the mental toll… it is the way he reacted when I pulled him from Red.”

“Did he do something before I came out?” Fell thinks about what he walked out on, the hot chocolate has probably gone cold sitting on the coffee table. “All I saw was crying and hugging.”

“It is the type of crying. It was shock followed by relief. He was scared and someone protected him. He is not used to it.” Vanilla wrings his hands. “We all know the relief of our brother’s stepping in for us… That also reminds me. We cannot tell our brothers. They will insist on dealing with this and I do not think this little guy will allow harm to come to his brother… I do not think he even knows he is being abused.”

“It accounts for the reactions I could not correlate to that training journal.” Fell makes a disgusted face and gets up to set aside his armor. “If he does not ask for help, we cannot do much.”

Stirring on the bed draws the discussion to a close as they watch the little skele struggle to a sitting position. It is obvious really quickly that the little skele is not all there with them as he takes no notice that any of them are around him. Clumsily sliding off the bed the little skele has trouble keeping his feet under him for his first few steps. He reaches for the light switch but thinks better of it and uses the brace on his hand to knock on the door. As he listens for anything beyond the door and hears nothing, he lets himself fall against the wall. No motivation to do anything else the little skele lets himself slide to the floor.

“No, you are not going to fall back into that state.” Fell rushes over and lifts the little skele from the floor by underneath his arms. “Your eye lights are barely lit. You need to circulate more of your magic.”

The little skele puts his hands up on Fell’s arms trying to collect himself from his lapse. Tiredly looking up at Fell the little skele lays his head over on his shoulder but allows more of his magic to flow through him. Tears prick at the corners of his sockets as the electrical feeling flairs around the collar. Vanilla moves up next to Fell so the little skele notices him and smiles widely.

“Would it be alright if I took you downstairs to relax before we start your healing session?” Vanilla holds his hands out as he sees the little skele studying him and is glad he completely changed out of his battle body. “Healing magic works best if you trust our magic to do just that, so if you are relaxed it is easier on all of us.”

Reaching a broken hand out the little skele suddenly looks back over his shoulder at the door before looking around the rest of the room lingering on the corners. Fell has already seen the little skele’s answer and adjusts his hold on the other to hand him over to an eagerly waiting Vanilla. Taking the little skele into his arms Vanilla quickly hugs him to his chest.

“Open.” Fell orders and as the little skele does as told he gives him another half of a painkiller. “It has to go through your magic to work so don’t suppress it.”

The little skele tucks his head down guiltily into Vanilla’s shoulder hiding from Fell’s accusatory stare, which he is trying hard to keep from turning into a glare. Keeping one arm under the little skele’s femurs Vanilla rubs at his back to calm him and already feels him relaxing. Blue jumps up to get the door for them to head back down stairs so they could settle the little skele in for a healing session and assure the two that were left out.

“You are putting him to sleep.” Fell informs as they get to the bottom of the stairs. “It is apparently good for him though.”

“Let’s get him comfortable on the couch.” Blue offers rushing to the couch to set up a comfy place for Vanilla to lay the little skele. “He really is already asleep, isn’t he? I mean it isn’t like what he was doing earlier offered any real rest and that was a bad episode before that.”

Vanilla carefully lays the snoozing skeleton down next to where Blue has taken a seat. It takes Vanilla by surprise again how much the little skele looks like a younger version of his brother, who used to smile more honestly and kept fewer secrets. He even sprawls out like Comic used to; hand fallen up by his head, hand sprawled almost straight out, and legs bent like he fell asleep sitting cross legged only to simply fall back when sleep took hold. Noticing the little skele’s sweater has bunched up Vanilla carefully readjusts it.

“We should probably actually remove his sweater.” Blue pulls the first aid kit out. “I want to wrap just the bones and then put it in a splint. If I can convince him to let me take the splint off at the end of the day I think it will be good progress.”

“I am here to help. You take the lead.” Vanilla helps to remove the sweater and immediately glares at Blue. “Really, he really is like Sans.”

“Oh, I have his clothes, so he hasn’t had a chance to change yet.” Blue slightly chuckles. “It is a gift and helped raise his spirits so I could not really deny it to him. Fell isn’t very happy either.”

“If you would just leave me a few more outfits I could wash what I have and there would be plenty for him to wear.” Fell looks on over the back of the couch. “I should go check on our brothers. No doubt they are brooding.”

Blue lays the little skele back down and pets his head for a bit to make sure he has fallen completely asleep for them. When he is sure the other is not going to wake up on them, Blue takes up one of his hands and starts to unwrap it. Following Blue’s lead Vanilla takes up the other hand to begin unraveling the bandages on it.

“It looks bad but it has been healing up well.” Blue warns so as not to give Vanilla another shock. “It has been healing rather faster than I thought but I appreciate the assistance.”

“Of course, the great Vanilla, is always up to helping his friends. He…” Vanilla finally gets the bandages and splint from the little skele’s hand making him blanch slightly. “This, this is better you said?”

“Yeah, it was mostly powder before.” Blue tries to smile but it appears more as a grimace. “Heal as much as you can and then wrap the bone separately from the splint… Are you okay?”

“Yes, I am.” Vanilla takes a deep breath before he begins setting and healing. “I just would never have guessed the damage was that bad.”

“Looks better than last time.” Comic sits on the coffee table with the first aid kit in his lap. “Heh, had to come watch my cool bro doing something so cool.”

Comic is smiling nervously at the two skeletons doing the healing but neither shoo him away. Vanilla takes a moment of focus to give his brother a forgiving smile but can’t do any lecturing without risking influencing his healing. Both Blue and Vanilla are starting to feel the drain from all of the healing when Red comes back in to sit next to Comic on the table. Fell follows soon after with several mugs.

“I think this is my limit if I want to do another session later.” Blue admits and watches Vanilla stop as well with a deep sigh. “Still shattered bone… Sorry, I know I should not rush his healing. Can I get a roll of bandages?”

“He is so small. This is going to be tricky.” Vanilla looks between the shattered bones and bandages. “Nothing the great Vanilla cannot handle!”

“So cool.” Comic chuckles. “But don’t wake him yet.”

“NYEH, oops, got a little too pumped up.” Vanilla gets to wrapping the small bones. “This is delicate work, I should focus.”

Red leans his back against Comic’s side as he looks on at the two wrapping the useless mess of hands. He also glances the bruise he left of the humerous of the little skele’s arm, he had not meant to grab him that hard but he had not taken into account how fragile the little skele’s condition actually is. It would be a lie for Red to keep saying he didn’t know why he reacted the way he did to the little skele’s growls when he recalled being his size standing in front of Papyrus preparing to claim his first chunk of LV.

The little skele starts squirming before they have completed wrapping him up. Both healers hold his arms still so he does not do more damage to the unprotected injuries. They start at the sudden stillness but one look at the little skele’s face tell them they have not settled the other but might have made it worse by the look of pain he is displaying. Using the stillness to their advantage they quickly get the bandaging done and then the splints back in place.

“Hey, shh, you are good. Wake up.” Blue gently runs his hand over the coronal suture and jostles his shoulder. “You are at Fell’s house, remember?”

Taking a deep breath the little skele blinks his eyes open having trouble getting his eye lights to light at first. When they do he is staring up at the ceiling catching a slight glimpse of a blue glove out of the corner of his socket. Pulling his arms closer to his chest, he looks up to see Blue smiling down at him keeping a hand on his skull. Vanilla is sitting with his hands in his lap with a bit of relief in his grin. It isn’t until he turns his heavy head that he sees Comic and Red that he recalls what happened. Curling up to take up less space, he can hardly get out a bit of a whimper.

“Hey, hey we… I am sorry about earlier. Just reacted.” Comic watches the little skele flinch at his first word before devolving into shivering. “I don’t think you would hurt anyone and we wouldn’t hurt you.”

“Don’ know how many times I gotta say it.” Red grumbles crossing his arms. “My bro made hot chocolate, e’er had any?”

“WITH MARSHMELLOWS? *ehem* I mean…” Blue blushes and looks back to the little skele who is shaking his head. “You have never had hot chocolate. It is very good for bad days, makes you feel better.”

_Hot chocolate? Is that like the chocolate milk Nightmare makes us?_ The little skele lets the idea churn around in his head for too long. The others are giving him worried glances that he has yet to take notice of while trapped in thought. It is a deep sigh that starts drawing his mind back.

“Here.” Red reaches for the little skele to sit him up at the edge of the couch. “Can’ drink lyin’ down.”

Although Red had not moved him too quickly the little skele is a bit off balanced when he removes his hands to grab a mug of hot chocolate. Vanilla is the quickest to reach out and stop the little skele from tumbling off the couch with a steadying hand to his chest. Startled by the sudden vertigo feeling the little skele clutches as well as he can to the bracing hand. Red watches the little skele for any more false moves as Fell hands him a mug.

“Wha’ I tell ya ‘bout cracked skulls?” Red jokes bringing the mug up for the little skele to try. “My bro put a couple pieces of ice in it for ya.”

Cautiously the little skele removes his hands from where Vanilla is holding him to place them on Red to help steady himself. As he summons his tongue, he gets his first taste of thick liquid chocolate and instantly perks up. Shifting to try and get more causes Red to have to clamber to keep from letting the little skele burn himself.

“He’s like a kitten.” Blue chuckles trying to hide behind a throw pillow. “The sneeze, the growls, his protectiveness of his food, this… it’s all like a little kitten.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings:  
> Discussion of potential abuse and not having the power to do anything about it  
> Little skele coming out of a dissociative state  
> Discussion of injury  
> Medicine consumption  
> Night terror discomfort  
> *Remember I am learning with these warnings. I like the placement but if you have any other advice or tips let me know so I can improve.


	51. Chapter 51

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at bottom
> 
> Day Count- 64 (4)
> 
> Our little skele is not doing good. So at least until the day count falls back to just one count be aware of possible hard topics like injuries, panic/anxiety attacks, dissociation, mentions of severe abuse, and other things that could be associated with a recovering kidnap victim. Please consume content safely.

Vanilla decides after lunch that the little skele is not getting enough stimulation for a proper recovery and got permission to push all the furniture to the walls. Then proceeds to start a variation of Marco Polo to get the little skeleton up and moving. Red and Comic declared they would watch from the couch to make sure no one is cheating while Fell declared it too childish to join in (he is not going to admit he had gone overboard trying to overpower the other magic in the collar before lunch).

The person in the blindfold has to sense around for the other two and gets three hints, in which the other two have to make some kind of noise to give away their position. If you are caught you have to take the blindfold and try to find the others. Vanilla and Blue have switched off several times while even a bit clumsy from the pain killers the little skele seems impossible to catch. He moves silently whether to find a spot to stand or dodging a reaching hand by just enough not to be detected. A few times he even purposely made a noise to get the other person detected. Neither Blue nor Vanilla minds at all.

“He is still favoring that leg.” Fell mumbles standing next to the couch. “Meaning he hasn’t been circulating his magic properly since he got the injury.”

“If he’s dis good at dodgin’ how’d he get caugh’ ta begin wit’?” Red looks to his brother keeping his voice low. “Ya said fishbitch coul’n’ get ‘em either?”

“Gifted.” Fell shakes his head not wanting to think on that. “From the injuries, I would say he got trapped somewhere. Was probably _rescued_.”

“You know that whispering is very distracting.” Blue huffs not realizing his hand skirts just over the little skele’s head. “Announce yourself.”

“Over here.” Vanilla snickers across the room as the little skele taps the floor at Blue’s feet causing the blind skeleton to jump startled. “So close.”

“Mweh, you will not escape me.” Blue lurches forward and touches the floor as the little skele steps back out of reach. “No you don’t. Gotcha!”

“Blue!” Vanilla calls too late.

Blue launches forward trying to tackle the little skele in a way he could get a hold of the other and slow himself down once he has him. The little skele has fallen to one knee in his dodge to the side so that Blue starts to fly right over him. It isn’t until Vanilla’s outcry that the little skele realizes the coffee table is right behind him. Shifting his weight quickly the little skele wraps his arms around Blue’s middle and rolls him so he lands on his back. Unfortunately, in this position Blue cannot control his stop anymore and his momentum pulls both of them forward.

“Shit!” Red jumps up to see them better. “Ya were told not ta get too excited.”

“Whoops…” Blue shifts the blindfold from his sockets and sees the table over his head. “That might have hurt.”

“Blue sounds fine.” Comic walks over. “How’s the kid?”

Realizing he still has the little skele on him Blue tries to sit up to check on him and clocks his head on the table he had just a moment ago barely missed. Turning Blue’s soul blue Comic pulls him out from under the table with the little skele riding along head tucked close to Blue’s ribs. A little slower this time Blue sits up rubbing his skull and holding a steadying hand on the little skele’s back. The little skele suddenly jumps up and starts examining Blue’s skull.

“I am fine.” Blue chuckles feeling the bandaged hands pushing his skull slightly to be examined. “How about you?”

With a heavy sigh of relief, the little skele lets himself fall heavily back onto his tail bone. Then notices everyone else in the room is looking down on them. All of their looks of shock and surprise start to make him uncomfortable as he is unable to figure out why they are looking on in that way. When no one does anything the little skele whimpers.

“Do you even realize how difficult what you just did is?” Fell rubs at his sockets. “You are not in trouble. We are impressed.”

“What exactly happened?” Blue looks around himself. “Did I almost hurt him?”

“NO HE MOST EXPERTLY DODGED YOU AND THEN KEPT YOU FROM FLYING INTO THE COFFEE TABLE.” Vanilla explains. “HE IS STRONG AND FLEXIBLE.”

“And unfortunately fragile at this time.” Fell notices the marrow dripping from the little skele’s leg again. “Should you just go ahead and heal it or should we wrap it up?”

Blue looks to the little skele who is just staring at the injury seeming unperturbed by the injury currently leaking marrow and luckily not looking too serious. Gingerly taking the leg up Blue examines the relatively deep chip that other than the recent strain seems to be healing fine on its own even if it is doing so slowly. Fell seems to come to the same conclusion as Blue because he sets the healing gel and first aid kit in reach of Blue. Seeing the kit, the little skele flops onto his back in resignation. In that position it looks like a shadow darts across the floor behind everyone.

“Woah, hold still. I have to clean it real quick, it will only sting a bit.” Blue assures as the little skele sits up trying to look around. “Is anything else hurt?”

The little skele sits still only shaking his head at the question he is asked. Red glances around for whatever has caught the little skele’s attention but doesn’t see anything interesting and just chalks it up to the pain killers still tripping him up. At that thought Red lets out an impressed whistle.

“No’ only did a loopy skeleton out maneuver ya both but also for da most part scrape ou’ a successful save to baby Blue’s blind dive.” Red roughly pets the little skele’s head to make him squirm on Blue before putting his hands back in his pockets. “Coul’ ya imagine him at full strength.”

“All done.” Blue lifts the little skele off the floor and sits him on the couch. “Rest that leg while we put the living room back in order.”

“Lucky.” Comic teases as he is directed with Red to move the coffee table.

Fell and Vanilla lift the couch easily with the little skele quickly finding enjoyment in the movement safely perched on the cushy surface. As soon as the coffee table is set in front of the couch Comic and Red quickly flop back onto the couch. Instantly huffing Fell starts slightly shifting furniture back into perfect alignment. Blue reorganized the first aid kit before storing it next to the entertainment center.

“I should start dinner.” Fell decides once he has the living room back in order. “It will take just a bit.”

“I WILL HELP.” Vanilla quickly perks up. “THERE IS A NEW TECHNIQUE I WANTED TO SHARE.”

“I will assist as well.” Blue messes with the TV. “I think this is a good movie for you. Behave until dinner is ready.”

There is instantly a cacophony of clattering dishes being pulled from storage. The three excitable skeletons soon forget to use their inside voices as they ‘discuss’ the dinner plans. Clattering quiets as prep work starts up and there are thumps of fists and knives. It seems to have been agreed upon that several dishes are going to be served for dinner with a few collaboration projects they were going to try to fit in as well.

“Uh, do you remember last time just two of them cooked together.” Comic listens to the others working in the kitchen. “Should we…”

“Definitely.” Red jumps up. “Stay ‘ere, migh’ ge’ dangerous, kiddo.”

Watching the others leave the room the little skele looks to the TV Blue left on for him and decides to try to make himself a bit of a nest while the previews are still playing. The lack of mobility in his hands hinder him only slightly as he takes up the small corner by the arm of the couch. A pattering sound moving behind the couch puts him on alert knowing everyone else is in the kitchen. Slowly sliding off the couch the little skele silently skirts the edge.

“OF COURSE VINEGAR IS NECESSARY.” Fell declares from the kitchen. “IF THE FOOD IS TOO HEAVY FOR MY WARD WE WILL HAVE SOMETHING ELSE FOR HIM TO TRY.”

“LIKE MY SPAGETTI!” Vanilla announces punching some tomatoes into submission. “THE GLITTER WILL…”

The little skele is struck heavily in the chest and falls hard to the floor with a loud thud. As he lays there unable to draw in the air that is knocked from him the little skele can’t muster up any sound to alert the others to his predicament. A weight lays over his ribs keeping him from potentially escaping as his mind decides to recall the collapsed building pinning him. Then something rubs against his mandible tilting his head up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings:  
> Agitated injury   
> Flashback/panic attack


	52. Chapter 52

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at bottom
> 
> Day Count- 64 (4)
> 
> Our little skele is not doing good. So at least until the day count falls back to just one count be aware of possible hard topics like injuries, panic/anxiety attacks, dissociation, mentions of severe abuse, and other things that could be associated with a recovering kidnap victim. Please consume content safely.

A rumbling pulls the little skele from his plummeting thoughts as the sound reverberates through his ribcage from the weight pinning him down. The pressure from his mandible recedes only to bump at the other side of his jaw. It isn’t until a new sound he has never heard before comes from his attacker that the little skele can more aptly determine his situation. Whatever is on his ribcage is not as heavy as he first perceived. The rumbling is some sort of purring and whatever is nudging at his jaw is furry. So slowly raising his hands the little skele lays them over the weight still laying over him. Nothing unpleasant happens so he tilts his head to look at what has so proudly captured him only to catch the furry rubbing to the side of his face obscuring his vision.

“DOOMFANGER!” Fell stomps into the room concerned about the thump he had heard. “THAT IS NOT HOW WE GREET GUESTS!”

The little skele looks up at Fell rushing across the room to his prone form. Then that new sound the little skele isn’t familiar with comes from the ball of fur on his ribs again. Startled the little skele takes his hands away from the creature again. Fell reaches down and grabs Doomfanger to pull off the little skeleton but claws are stuck in his sweater.

“You are being very rude Doomfanger.” Fell huffs carefully detangling the claws from the sweater, earning another one of those strange noises. “Do not talk back to me.”

“Is dat yer damn beas’ yowlin’ out here?” Red comes back into the living room leaving Comic to monitor the others. “Shit, he didn’ attack him did he?”

“No, it does not look like it.” Fell lifts the beast from the little skele’s chest, who quickly gets defensively to his feet. “Just greeted him a bit over enthusiastically.”

“Doesn’ look much like a cat does it?” Red pats the nervous looking little skele on the shoulder. “Ugly bastard ain’t he? You e’er seen a cat ‘fore?”

Nervously still eyeing the ball of fluff in Fell’s arms the little skele shakes his head. Red studies the cat and the little skele for a minute before making a decision. Picking up the little skele so he sits in one arm, Red steps closer to the cat. The little skele is trying to lean as far away from the beast as he can while being brought closer.

“Red.” Fell warns unsure about what his brother is doing. “Doomfanger is…”

“Da beast is showin’ no hos’ility and still purrin’ and da kid has ne’er seen a cat.” Red is actually a bit surprised the little skele had let him pick him up after earlier. “Af’er pouncin’ on him, he owes him a bit of curiosity… Ow, bastard!”

Doomfanger jumps from Fell’s arms and onto Red’s shoulder heavily. Red has to hold his arm out to give the large cat enough room to perch. The little skele jerks and adjusts still unsure about the creature now staring at him around Red’s skull. Moving too much for Doomfanger’s liking the cat swats Red in the back of the head with no claws, only for Red to quickly grab him by the scruff of his neck.

“Mean bastard.” Red rolls his shoulder and drops the beast into the little skele’s lap. “Stupid fur ball is almost half yer size.”

Doomfanger bumps his head up against the little skele’s mandible again. Fell can only watch curiously since his mighty majestic beast has never taken to anyone else like this before. Then Doomfanger gives the little skele an expectant look only to receive a nervous untrusting stare in return. With a roll of his eyes Fell reaches over and scratches behind the cat’s ears.

“He wants attention.” Fell explains when he notices the little skele giving him questioning glances, not letting the cat leave his sight for too long. “I know they are still in braces but just run a hand down his back.”

When Doomfanger contentedly allows the bandaged hand to warily brush down his back Red sets them on the couch where he noticed the mess of blankets. The little skele relaxes as Doomfanger curls up over his legs shutting his eyes to nap. Finally losing some of his suspicion the little skele smiles enjoying the rumbling weight of the cat laying over his femurs.

“Well, I should go back to the kitchen as head chef.” Fell stands up straight accepting he wouldn’t be needed to swoop in to rescue anyone. “You can stay out here if you are going to continue to be a nuisance in the kitchen Red.”

“No clue wha’ ya mean Boss.” Red winks at the little skele as he follows after his brother. “Jus’ watchin’ a master a’ work.”

Not completely sure what is happening the little skele just kind of keeps running a hand over the cats back as he watches the movie Blue had put on for him. The commotion from the kitchen bleeds through into the living room but both the little skele and cat ignore it. At some point Doomfanger bullied the little skele into a laying position so he can lay on top of him.

“Hey, fa’ ass, release yer ‘ostage.” Red holds some cold cuts out to lure the beast from its perch. “Come on I know ya want it.”

Doomfanger is lured onto the coffee table where Red has to be careful not to lose a finger as the cat snaps up the first slice offered up. Red makes sure that no one else comes into the room to see him spoiling Fell’s mangy beast. When the little skele sits up Red smirks and puts a finger to his teeth for the kid not to snitch on him. As the little skele gets up from the couch Red tosses the last piece of cold cuts so it lands on the cats face to distract it for a moment.

“I came ta recue ya for dinner.” Red motions the little skele in front of him and they make their way to the over laden table. “Since dey all worked so hard on makin’ da food I’ll feed ya dis time.”

Red seems a bit nervous taking his seat and reaching for the little skele when he comes over. Vanilla is setting down one of his dishes when he picks up the little skele before Red can. When the little skele whimpers Vanilla quickly adjust to more securely hold him.

“DO NOT WORRY RED, I DO NOT MIND TAKING CARE OF HIM DURING DINNER.” Vanilla assures grinning hugely. “IT SHOULD INCREASE HIS TRUST IN MY MAGIC SO OUR NEXT HEALING SESSION GOES EVEN BETTER.”

“Ain’t a problem Vanilla, I am makin’ up for earlier an’ all.” Red tries to reason. “He also has ta be careful wha’ he has, magic cain’t handle too much.”

“Vanilla, what are you doing with this bread?” Blue calls from the kitchen. “Is it done?”

“NYEH, I FORGOT.” Vanilla sits the little skele in Red’s lap. “I SUPPOSE I WILL LEAVE HIM TO YOU THIS TIME.”

“Close call.” Comic steps behind Red’s chair and rests his arms on Red’s skull. “Only eat what Red gives you, trust me. We’ll take care of everything else.”

“Ya any good wit’ signals?” Red whispers to the little skele who had been taught signaling by Cross for missions so he nods. “Good, if da fork is correct da food is good, if da fork is upside down it won’ make ya sick bu’ prolly won’ tas’e good so try ta de-summon yer tongue. I won’ give ya anythin’ ta make ya sick an’ I’ll try not ta give ya anythin’ from da second category, okay?”

After contemplating it for a minute, the little skele isn’t completely sure he can continuously summon and un-summon his tongue, but he nods anyways. Then looks at the table over laden with many dishes, only a few that he recognized. Many of them look good but some are obviously drowned in stuff like glitter. It is going to be interesting to find out what is actually edible.

“Alright, we may have over done it just a bit.” Blue follows Vanilla back to the dining room with the last of the food. “I can take some left overs for my brother when I leave later.”

“Yes, we may have gone a bit overboard.” Fell admits bringing in pitchers of juice and water. “We will figure something out.”

Comic sets full plates in front of Red’s spot and his own as he takes his seat. Vanilla chastises him for starting before everyone is seated at the table but considering Fell is the last to get to the table and is simply setting down drinks it isn’t too inconsiderate. Red took the opportunity of the distraction to clear their plates of the inedible stuff. Then manages to give the little skele a bit of the food he already knew he liked.

“How is it?” Fell looks to the little skele as Red finishes giving him another bite. “Does everything taste okay?”

The little skele nods his head enthusiastically at least liking what Red is indicating for him to actually taste, not switching too much. All of the skeletons that had helped cook are proud they had made food the little skele seemed to enjoy. As Red and Comic try to hide their discomfort from hiding the truth from their brothers.

“Hey, no sleepin’ yet.” Red notices the little skele trying to curl up in his lap after they had started chatting at the table. “Le’ them tend yer hands firs’.”

The little skele forces himself to sit up more as he tries to rub his sockets. Blue finishes off his plate and takes all empty plates to the sink before returning to take the sleepy skele from Red. Vanilla doesn’t like leaving the cleaning to the others but because Blue wants to remove the splints while the little skele is aware of it they had to do the healing before he falls asleep.

“Honestly, how did you make such a mess?” Blue pulls out a cloth to wipe off the little skele’s face where bits of food stuck around his mouth. “Can you stay awake for the healing this time? I know you have slept through the other healings but I need to discuss something with you.”

The little skele is tired but it wouldn’t be the first time he needed to put off sleep so he nods and lets Blue make everyone comfortable. The pain killers have faded so the aches give him something to focus on even as he is made comfortable. Then as the healing magic begins its feeling running up his arms is also very comfortable.

“Alright, since you are struggling not to fall asleep on us I guess I should start explaining what I want to do.” Blue watches as the little skele readjusts carefully to stay awake. “I need you to think calmly about what I am going to tell you… I want to remove your splints.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings:  
> The end of a potential panic attack.  
> Healing/injury discussed.
> 
> = ^ . ^ = <\--this is Naru, I have been drawing him on random work since I was sent the emote in an email probably 20 years ago. He also tends to appear on random Facebook pages if someone leaves an unlocked phone unattended to close to me.


	53. Chapter 53

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at bottom
> 
> Day Count- 64 (4)
> 
> Our little skele is not doing good. So at least until the day count falls back to just one count be aware of possible hard topics like injuries, panic/anxiety attacks, dissociation, mentions of severe abuse, and other things that could be associated with a recovering kidnap victim. Please consume content safely.

“So that is your eighth healing session for your hands.” Blue watches the little skele stare intently at his wrapped up hands. “I know it is scary to be that injured, and it is probably even scarier being hurt the way you were. You may not like this but I have been monitoring the injuries by unwrapping them.”

“Blue, slow down, I don’t think he is taking this well.” Comic interrupts. “Too much at once.”

“Sorry, I was just trying to paraphrase what we already said while healing.” Blue takes a deep breath trying to think and pets the little skele’s skull to calm him back down. “You are okay… I just wanted to assure you that even if you are scared, you survived, and even if it is with help you are getting better.”

The little skele does not look away from his bandages. Unable to actually see the current condition the limbs are in, his mind decides to remind him how they were injured to begin with. Large clawed hand, pressure, pain, dust sifting away, mitts to hold the mess from… He shakes his head trying to get the images and phantom feelings to go away. Several points of pressure ground him back in Fell’s living room. Blue is still petting his skull, Vanilla put his hand over the fading images overlaying his current injury, and Fell laying his hand over the collar at the back of his neck.

“Don’t overwhelm him.” Comic sighs but notices the little skele calming down. “Did you all have to do something?”

“I could not risk the collar doing him harm.” Fell pulls back crossing his arms. “That is my task while he is staying here.”

“I COULD NOT LET HIM SIT HERE AND LET HIS THOUGHTS GET THE BETTER OF HIM.” Vanilla huffs moving his hand to lay on the little skele’s back. “THOUGHTS CAN HURT JUST AS MUCH AS A FIST.”

“Heh, so cool, bro.” Comic just grins at his brother. “Just take it easy on him, not sure anyone can take that much awesome at once.”

“I know you are not fine but are you okay now.” Blue softly asks. “Take your time.”

They are asking him to be strong even though he has proven at every turn to be anything but strong. He isn’t making a good showing of the strength the others in the gang always portrays. It has all been his fault; jumping into the fight, getting stuck, not holding out, capture, useless struggle, pain, pain, pain…

“Stop.” Fell pulls the little skele back against the couch and leans over to speak quietly only to the little skele. “You deserved none of this. Do you want to know the biggest gamble of collaring another? The second the collar is on everything is the fault of the one who did the collaring. Understand yet?”

_You are mine. I take care of mine… Don’t you dare go deciding your own worth, that is my job._ Nightmare told him he is coming back. Everyone has plans for when he comes back. It isn’t his place to decide what he deserves. Maybe it is cowardice or laziness that allows him to let go of his guilt for now but he felt lighter at the idea of letting Nightmare determine what he deserves; punishment, reward, nothing…

“Shh, you are okay.” Blue feels the little skele lean into the petting. “We won’t completely remove the bandages just the splints… Alright?”

Taking another moment to stare at his hands the little skele refuses the images and phantom pain this time. With a deep breath he holds his hands out to Blue. Looking over the little skele, Blue takes up one of the hands having to stop petting to do so. It takes a lot of will power for the little skele not to pull from Blue when the first of the binding holding the splint is broken. Blue gives him a couple seconds to relax before continuing.

“No more bindings. Your hand is just sitting in the splint. Any pain?” Blue holds the hand steady even though the little skele is shaking. “I will let you lift your hand up when you are ready.”

The little skele stares at the limb that although still wrapped up in bandages looks to be a hand. Slowly watching to make sure nothing starts to fall apart the little skele pulls his hand off the splint. Nothing goes wrong but other than being able to raise his hand it doesn’t work. Blue sets aside the splint and watches for any evidence of a bad reaction. A whimper from the little skele pulls Blue’s gaze up from his hand to see the worry on his face.

“If your hands heal up to that point, just take it slow moving your fingers, twisting your wrist. No pressure yet and nothing that hurts, there may be an ache but do not push yourself.” Blue tries not to seem overly hopeful. “Are you ready to do the other one?”

The fear is not anywhere near what it was when Blue did the first hand. Just as Blue had with the first hand when the bindings are off he waits for the little skele to get the confidence to raise his own hand. It still takes a moment but is far less emotional. Vanilla notices that although the little skele had gotten a bit happy at the splints being removed he is slipping back into sullenness, so starts rubbing at his back. Upon noticing the feeling, the little skele looks up to Vanilla.

“YOU ARE HEALING REALLY WELL.” Vanilla assures. “IF YOUR HANDS WERE ANYWHERE NEAR AS BAD AS THEY SAY, YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS IS IMPRESSIVE.”

Looking back down to the broken limbs the little skele becomes very self-conscious and curls up around his arms tucked to his stomach. Vanilla gets very concerned but Fell shakes his head knowing the little skele is battling inner demons that soft words were not going to get through. Fell decides it is time for him to take over care of his ward.

“Time for bed ain’t it?” Comic stands when Fell shoos both Blue and Vanilla away. “Want me to take you home and read you your favorite?”

“YES IT IS GETTING QUITE LATE.” Vanilla confirms and reaches over to pat the little skele’s skull once more. “YOU TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF, I HOPE WE CAN BE FRIENDS, SO WE CAN MEET AGAIN SOME TIME.”

Raising his head back up just enough to peek over his knees the little skele looks to Comic for permission to accept Vanilla’s offer of friendship. Comic notices the look he is getting and becomes a bit uncomfortable with guilt so he just shrugs. Smiling the little skele nods and Vanilla grows incredibly excited but quickly reigns it in.

“I WILL KEEP IN TOUCH WITH BLUE SO WE CAN HANGOUT SOME TIME.” Vanilla looks to Blue for conformation. “DO NOT TAKE AFTER MY BROTHER OR RED AND BECOME LAZY, IT WILL NOT DO FOR A GOOD RECOVERY. TAKE CARE.”

Comic shortcuts his brother and Blue once they have collected their abundance of leftovers from the kitchen. Fell places the pillow and blankets back in an approximation of what the little skele had them in before the healing session. Upon seeing it the little skele curls up in the spot with his back to the room as Fell sits close by waiting for him to settle. Red flops onto the rest of the couch ready to laze there until Comic gets back.

“I am going to pour some more magic into the collar.” Fell informs noticing the little skele has returned to staring at his hands. “You may sleep or watch whatever mundane drivel Red decides to put on.”

“Uh, shoul’ prolly put in a movie den.” Red didn’t really care what went on as long as he could close his eyes for a bit. “Ta lazy ta choose. Wha ya wan’?”

A brotherly tiff ensues over the issue as the little skele doesn’t know what to make of the state of his hands or the dynamic of the brothers’ relationship. Although they are still bickering Red gets up to switch out movies sitting in front of the tv to look through a few of their selection. As he is putting in something they finally come to agreement on Comic shortcuts into Red’s spot.

“Ooh, warm.” Comic lays his jacket over the back of the couch and snuggles down into the seat. “Very comfy.”

“Well, a bedder one jus’ opened up.” Red chuckles getting up. “E’eryone get home a’righ’?”

“Yup.” Comic grins as Fell glares at him for popping the p. “Bed time story read, skeletons asleep… how is he doing? Oof.”

“No canoodling.” Fell scoffs as his brother lands lying on Comic and looks over at the dozing little skele. “He is already nodding off.”

“Jus’ watchin’ TV Boss.” Red snuggles into Comic but sighs. “We didn’ give him a pain killer af’er de healin’… Migh’ be fine now, not la’er though.”

Red groans but rises back up from his spot on Comic to go find the painkillers. Not feeling any pain, the little skele is comfortable enough to try to fake sleep so he doesn’t have to take any more painkillers. Fell notices what he assumes is the little skele dozing off and gives him a slight shake to keep him up the few more minutes it will take to get him the medicine. With a bit of a whimper the little skele tries to tuck further into the couch while Fell tries to keep his hand steady on the collar.

“You will wake up feeling better if you take some pain killers now.” Fell takes none of it and lifts the little skele up to sit for a bit. “Stay awake just a few more minutes.”

“Here ya go.” Red stands in front of the couch holding out the half of pill. “Come on. Don’ make a fuss.”

Unable to argue the little skele just whines a bit as he opens his mouth for the pain killer being offered to him. Too tired before the pill, the little skele is hit hard by the effect and slumps forward into Fell’s chest to continue where he left off trying to sleep. Fell tenses just a bit at first as Red chuckles at his discomfort before assisting to put him back into the little nest. Comic snapping a few photos for good measure. The little skele tucks back in knocking the pillow over his head. So Fell has to readjust the pillow to make sure the little skele can breath and he can keep his hand on the collar.

“You should have left the poor thing to snuggle with your bro, it would have been adorable.” Comic whispers to Red. “Plus I think he could use some cuddling.”

“Which one?” Red snickers. “‘Fraid one woul’ ge’ bit.”

Fell pretends not to have heard what either of them has said but glares at the disruptive light laughter between the two. They get the hint after a few more slight jokes and quiet down to watch the movie that is put in. The little skele is out like a light half way through the laughing fits while Fell finishes with what he can put into the collar. Fell’s fingers still slightly tingle from the fight with the hostile magic he is battling with but is quite satisfied with the progress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings:  
> Most of the chapter revolves around little skele's injured hands.  
> Flashback of obtaining injury, bits of the experience not full flashback  
> Panic and anxiety related to the condition of little skele's hands  
> Reminder of Nightmare's possessiveness  
> Reluctance to take medicine and taking it anyways


	54. Chapter 54

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at bottom
> 
> Day Count- 65 (5)
> 
> Our little skele is not doing good. So at least until the day count falls back to just one count be aware of possible hard topics like injuries, panic/anxiety attacks, dissociation, mentions of severe abuse, and other things that could be associated with a recovering kidnap victim. Please consume content safely.

“There you are.” Blue walks back into the living room from cleaning up breakfast with Fell. “You are almost hidden under Doomfanger. What are you up to?”

The little skele looks up at Blue with one hand still slightly petting the content Doomfanger laying over him from just under his ribs, and the other hand hovering over his face. With a huge grin on his face the little skele holds his hovering hand out for Blue to see. Blue stares at the little skele’s hand confused at first but then notices tiny little twitches from the fingers. It takes just another second for Blue to realize it is intentional as each finger twitches in tandem.

“Oh, wow! Have you been working on this all morning?” Blue encourages even this small accomplishment considering they don’t know how much use the little skele will ever get back into his hands. “It does not hurt right? That is good… I am going to look up some exercises to help. If it starts to ache let us know.”

Blue hops up on the opposite side of the couch and pulls out his phone to look up some helpful tips that might help with the little skele’s recovery. Doomfanger keeps an eye on Blue for several minutes flicking his one ear a few times but decides to rub into the little skele’s ribs and flops over to get pet in a more acceptable position. The little skele silently chuckles at the affection switching hands to practice with the other hand. Fell comes into the living room planning to put some magic into the little skele’s collar to be met with content cat eyes staring him down, which he finds impressive considering he has the height advantage. He still walks up to the couch.

“Traitor.” Fell mumbles affectionately as he scratches behind the cat’s ears. “Do you mind sitting up so I can put more magic in the collar?”

The little skele attempts to sit up but Doomfanger becomes dead weight to keep his pillow from moving too much. Blue is watching and can only hide a slight snort behind his hand. Quitting his ministrations Fell gives Doomfanger an unimpressed look before lifting the cat to sit next to the little skele. Not to be slighted like that Doomfanger jumps up onto Fell’s shoulders, who doesn’t give any indication he felt the beast do so. Now free of the weight the little skele sits up so Fell can take a seat next to him. With the weight of Fell’s hand falling onto his neck the little skele returns to playing with his hands.

“Here, I want to try something with you.” Blue stands in front of the little skele and gently takes one of his hands. “There isn’t really too much rehabilitation out there for skeletons but we might be able to adjust some of what I read… Okay, for the most part just circulate magic while I move your hand and let me know if there is any pain.”

“Slowly Blue, give him time to react to anything he might feel.” Fell watches intently just in case it is ever needed later and to keep an eye out for anything the little skele might try to hide. “Blue, are you going to keep notes on what you try?”

“Of course!” Blue exclaims. “This could be important information for others to have… Ready?”

The little skele sits up to watch what Blue is doing slightly guided by Fell so he can see as well. Slowly and carefully Blue guides the little skele’s hand into a loose fist. Blue doesn’t push until it hurts, just enough to stretch the magic. Doomfanger hops off Fell’s shoulders to occupy the little skele’s untended to hand.

“Fang, over here.” Fell calls when Blue goes to switch which hand he is working on. “He is not in need of a body guard, you malicious beast.”

Doomfanger resigns himself to plopping under Fell’s free hand when the little skele gave the hand he had been petting with to Blue. The joints in the exercised hand tingle oddly like tiny little static shocks while he tries to even out the magic, he still isn’t completely sure how much magic is supposed to be circulating just that he is supposed to circulate it.

At about the same time both the little skele and Doomfanger perk up to look at the front door. Fell is used to this behavior with his cat but has never seen another monster react as quickly. Then there is a knock on the door that sends Doomfanger shooting off.

“Blue.”

“Comic”

Blue stands up careful not to jostle the hand he has been working on as he lays it down in the little skele’s lap. About that time Comic shortcuts behind Blue long enough to grab ahold of him and shortcut them to Red’s room. Red steps over to the door as Fell moves to the middle of the room where he has more room to maneuver. Neither really notices as the little skele takes up position to guard Fell’s blind spot.

“Who’s dere?” Red manages to ask in a threateningly joking voice.

“Canines.” Dogressa announces. “Reports for the Captain.”

“Royal Guard reports.” Dogamy reiterates.

“Do I have ta?” Red looks back to Fell.

“Yes, I need those reports.” Fell stands more at attention than on guard. “Let them in.”

“A’ight.” With a bit of a huff Red tosses on his jacket before unlocking the door and opening it. “Jus’ ya two? Come in.”

“So, you aren’t as small as we thought?” Dogressa half smiles passing Red. “At least twice the size as the puppy we saw last time.”

“That pup is quite small.” Dogamy agrees.

“Yes, he…” Fell glances to the couch where he expects to see the little skele but with another quick glance finds him on guard in his blind spot. “He made quite the impression on Captain Undyne as well… Anything to report on immediately or is everything relatively going well?”

Fell doesn’t linger on the thought long but it is odd how he always let the little skele into his vulnerable spots without noticing it until much later. The little skele never abused it for either nefarious deeds or even simple pranks. It is as if the little skele took this position very seriously or really didn’t see why it would bother anyone.

“A few ferals taken care of when they wandered in too close.” Dogressa reports. “Rest is daily issues… Captain Undyne approved the little pup?”

“Af’er he bit her.” Red chuckles, noticing where the little skele has scurried off to as well. “He’s playin’ guard dog back by Boss.”

Both of the dog couple’s heads cock to the side as they give a better look to the area just behind their Captain. The fact that the little skele’s sweater is light blue and stands out against the coloring of everything in this universe makes it quite easy to spot him. Fell attempts to step aside to let them get a better look but the little skele keeps right behind him. Dogamy chuckles at the antics and watches as his wife kneels down.

“Would you mind letting us get your scent?” She tries to speak softly. “So we can watch out for you.”

“With your smell we will know it is you.” Dogamy takes up the place behind his wife’s blind spot.

“If something were to happen it would be beneficial if you could easily find him.” Fell contemplates and then manages to pick up the little skele feeling him freeze up in his hold. “Come on, they just…”

“Trauma’s a bitch.” Red stood between Fell and the dogs. “I don’t think he’s ready for socializin’ jus’ yet.”

“Fair enough.” Dogressa stands. “Here are the reports.”

“Maybe another time.” Dogamy pats his wife’s shoulder. “No need to stress anyone.”

Red takes the reports and suffers through a quick pat from Dogressa. Then he leads them back to the door to lock up behind them. Tossing the papers to the side Red shrugs back out of his jacket. When he turns around Fell is still just holding the little skele under his arms.

“Well dat was stupid.” Red growls bringing the papers over to drop on the table. “Ya were ‘bout ta get some’ne hurt. I was supposed ta be makin’ da mistakes not ya, Boss.”

“And what is that supposed to mean.” Fell lowers his voice to a dangerous level. “You are the one jumping in between everyone.”

“Why don’ ya take a look at yer little ward.” Red snaps but it pulls the little skele from his own head to recollect himself. “He looked ready ta piss ‘imself ‘cause ya offered him up ta da canines.”

The little skele starts trying to squirm out of Fell’s hold and quickly gets set down before he causes Fell to drop him. He hadn’t wanted to be presented to any of the canine like that but he isn’t so much a coward to look that afraid in front of anyone, is he? It wasn’t even bad enough that he felt like he was going to have a panic attack, he just didn’t want to face them, didn’t know how. What if these canine hated him as much as his own? Running from the room the little skele tucks himself in the furthest corner he can get to in the kitchen to sulk.

“Um, are you alright?” Blue asks finding the little skele tucked behind the trash can facing the corner. “We heard yelling…”

More embarrassed than anything else, the little skele just shrugs his shoulders and hides his face in his arms. The more he thought about it the more he realizes how much of a fool he has made of himself since he got here. Being on those stupid painkillers hasn’t helped anything. Soon he is stuck in a self-deprecating downward spiral hating how weak he has been.

“Hey!” Blue sudden lunges forward to hug the little skele’s head to his chest. “It is okay. Wh-whatever they said I doubt they meant it.”

Right. He is just being too sensitive. They weren’t even talking to him and he decided to let what they were saying get to him. His own universe has said so much worse about him. Everyone else in the multiverse he has met wants him dead or gone, so why let this affect him. Just being a weak coward baby bones.

Standing out of Blue’s hold he can’t plaster on the fake smile so he just makes sure his head is turned so he can’t see. Blue watches the little skele head back out into the living room where everyone else has decided to wait for them. When the little skele walks in everyone turns their gaze upon him and he can’t help but to flinch under their stares. Convincing his body to move again the little skele sits at the coffee table and lays his head down on the table. His body won’t stop shaking but he pretends to not notice.

“Are you alright?” Comic asks touching the little skele’s shoulder but the skele pulls away almost as if burned. “Sorry… Are you cold?”

Figuring more questions are probably coming the little skele sits up from the table to shake his head at Comic’s last question. Keeping his gaze down at the table the little skele tries to avoid the judgmental stares he knows they have for him. Even though no one continues on the line of questioning someone takes up the little skele’s hand causing another flinch as he looks over to Blue looking a bit unsure.

“We were in the middle of therapy for this hand.” Blue doesn’t like how dull the little skele’s eyes are but knows from experience with his own brother that pushing will only work against them. “Unless you are in any pain.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings  
> Implied minor death  
> Self-deprecation due to bad reaction with the Dogi


	55. Chapter 55

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at bottom
> 
> Day Count- 65 (5)
> 
> Our little skele is not doing good. So at least until the day count falls back to just one count be aware of possible hard topics like injuries, panic/anxiety attacks, dissociation, mentions of severe abuse, and other things that could be associated with a recovering kidnap victim. Please consume content safely.

Everyone in the house has been pretty quiet since the brother’s argument after the canines left. The little skele after going through all the exercises Blue had wanted to, sits laying against the coffee table, trying to stay out of the way. Although Doomfanger has given up on the little skele as a lost cause for petting, he lays with his back to his leg to soak up the warmth.

Blue had insisted on feeding the little skele in the living room at the coffee table for lunch while the others ate at the table. The little skele had eaten less than half of his plate but couldn’t find it in himself to be too concerned about it. It concerned Blue greatly but he just sits with the little skele trying to offer comfort while getting no feedback. When everyone else is finishing up their own meals, Blue gave up on him finishing his plate and cleaned up.

Fell sits on the couch to go through the delivered reports. While Red and Comic sit on the couch with the power plant documentary playing. Trying not to be too persistent Blue sits trying to bring up the little skele’s mood to no avail. When dinnertime comes, Blue insists on making it even offering to let the little skele come watch him but even though he shrugs and moves to stand to follow him, Fell stops them.

“Sorry but I should probably put some magic into the collar.” Fell watches the little skele change direction no real care for what he is doing. “You are free to use the kitchen Blue.”

“Thank you.” Blue watches the little skele move over towards the couch. “I will not make anything too complicated.”

Fell moves over enough for the little skele to sit on the couch between him and the arm of the couch. Red gruffs a bit, as he pulls his feet up just a bit to keep his brother’s boney butt from sitting on them. The little skele lays over onto the arm of the couch making sure to angle his head so Fell can get to the collar. He closes his eyes to try to doze; he is really tired but not sleepy.

“Are you in pain?” Fell asks already pushing his magic. “You have not had any painkillers since breakfast.”

Peeking his sockets open to look to Fell the little skele gently shakes his head not wanting to dislodge Fell’s hand. Fell isn’t sure whether or not to believe the little skele although he has not seen any signs of pain from him. Accepting the little skele’s answer for now, Fell idly runs his thumb around the area of the collar to help soothe the agitated bone. Sockets falling shut again the little skele relaxes further against the arm of the couch.

“Dinner is ready.” Blue announces almost regrettably as he sees the little skele relaxing under Fell’s hand. “Table is already set and everything.”

“We all eatin’ in dere dis time?” Red nudges Comic awake. “Up sleepy bonez. Dere’s food.”

“Hmm, food?” Comic perks up looking over at Blue. “What did you make?”

“Taco casserole.” Blue announces happily. “It is something I have wanted to try out for a while, so you will have to tell me how it turned out.”

“Taco ‘bout predictable.” Comic stands from the couch and stretches causing several satisfying pops, even if it does cause a few winces from the others. “Bit of a stretch to think otherwise.”

“Shell we give it a try anyways?” Red snickers as Blue starts puffing out his cheeks indignantly. “Dishes got ta be better dan dat condiment casserole some‘ne brought ta dat party.”

“We do not need nor want that story or a continuation of your stars above puns.” Fell groans remembering his brother returning home sick after that party. “Would you like…?”

Fell looks to where he had last seen the little skele only having just taken his hand from the collar only to find the spot empty. The others look over to see what has caused Fell to lose his train of thought all of the sudden. Concerned considering the little skele’s current mood Fell quickly gets to his feet to start looking around. Blue catches on quicker than the other two and starts glancing around until he hears movement from the table.

“Wow, you are quiet.” Blue sighs watching the little skele struggle just a bit to get up into the chair. “Do you want some help? Do you have a preference who you want to help you with dinner?”

Having gotten up into the chair on his own the little skele shakes his head and taps his sternum; he is going to show them he didn’t need any extra help. Fell gets to the doorway to see for himself where the little skele has wandered off. Then him and Red exchange looks, neither of them were able to detect his movement, though Red is already aware of this little ability.

“Well… okay, let me get you a bowl.” Blue decides maybe some self-sufficiency will help bring the little skele’s mood back up. “I was careful to leave some of the toppings on the side for those that do not like them so if you want anything added just let me know.”

Blue watches the little skele sitting up on his knees to reach the table, still unsure if his hands are going to be able to function well enough to pick up the utensils. It is hard to say no though considering some of the light has come back into his eye lights. Everyone else comes to the table watching without trying to be too obvious about it.

The little skele is already attempting to pick up the fork, trying to balance the fork on his middle phalange before shakily bringing his index finger down to hold it in place. The fork clatters several times to the table before Blue can even get a bowl in front of the little skele. After a few more attempts he manages to drop the fork into the bowl. It gives the little skele better access to the utensil.

“Is there anything we can do to help you?” Blue watches the little skele resting his hand. “I do not mind.”

“He’s doing fine Blue.” Comic pats Blue’s shoulder. “Just let him do it on his own.”

Readjusting closer to the table and bringing the bowl closer the little skele focuses harder on the task. Conversation picks up around the table only slightly interrupted every time the fork clattered back into the bowl. With every failed attempt the little skele shrinks further into himself until he finally manages to get the fork all the way above the bowl by bracing the back of his other hand under the one holding the fork forcing his phalanges tighter together. His shaking has knocked most of the bite off his fork but tiny bites are better than nothing. Then just inches from his mouth his grip falters and back into the bowl goes the fork. Done with it the little skele pushes from the table and jumps from his chair to go back to the living room.

“Hey, come here, I will help you, it is okay.” Blue stands to grab the little skele but he pulls from his grip. “You need to eat, we can…”

The little skele steps further out of reach shaking his head no; if he couldn’t feed himself he didn’t deserve to eat. Blue doesn’t say anything else so the little skele tries again to leave not realizing his chest is heaving from his frustration. All his avenues to expend these frustrations have been taken or just aren’t available so he just ignores it, bury it for later. Trying to push his palm to his head to stave off the headache starting up he flinches at the pain, so he doesn’t notice when his path is cut off.

“I know yer hungry. Come back an’ eat.” Red reaches out to guide the little skele back to the table. “Don’ gotta be a stubborn little spaz.”

Flicking his eye lights up just enough to see the gold the little skele ducks the reaching hand and books it to the closest exit. He slams his shoulder and hand into the wall next to the door to brace himself since he is going too fast to stop any other way. The pain is blinding as it takes his legs out from under him and he is breathing even harder now trying to stall the tears fighting to fall. Even through the haze the little skele can tell he isn’t getting out this door it is locked. He can’t.

_Please. Let me out._

_YOU DID NOT BEHAVE 5-4-N-5._

_Come on little spaz. How am I to loosen da leash if ya won’ behave._

_You are too dangerous to be allowed free reign, Subject 5-4-N-5._

_I HAVE RESPONSIBILITIES 5-4-N-5, JUST STAY IN YOUR ROOM._

_Stubborn spaz, ya jus’ have ta behave._

_ENOUGH SUBJECT 5-4-N-5 YOU DO NOT DESERVE OUT._

“Hey, hey, its jus’ Red remember, Red idio’ who pu’s his foot in his mouth a’ leas’ once a day.” Red tugs the front of the little skele’s shirt to face him. “Ya need ta breathe. Comic come do dat thing dat gets him ta calm down woul’ ya.”

“Dude, he is too far gone to get his attention.” Comic looks on worried. “Blue what did you do last time?”

The little skele gets a breath in and releases it in a painful but silent scream trying to burn off the frustration or scare away the voices, doesn’t matter which. Slamming his head back cuts off the silent scream as his vision whites out with how hard he threw his head back, it stops the voices though. His Soul burns so bad he just wants to squeeze it until it stops but Nightmare told him not to do that anymore.

One two, debt is due… what do I have to give anyone. Three four, lock the door… not again, not again. Five six, they’re just nicks… it won’t keep healing. Seven eight, we won’t wait… don’t leave me alone, please, I’ll do better. Nine ten, that’s our win… okay…

“Shh, hey, do you remember me?” Honey lifts the little skele to kneel in front of him and lay his head against his chest so he could hear Honey’s Soul. “Don’t mind me I am just gonna sit here and ramble a bit okay? Are you angry, you’re allowed to be… just aim it in the right direction alright. Maybe sad, we definitely need to let that one out, tears wash it away… Perhaps happy, we are allowed to be even if others aren’t currently… Don’t tell my brother I have actually been reading those self-help books he got me, okay? It’s so exhausting holding all that in isn’t it… No one is that strong, and it isn’t weak to feel it.”

The little skele whimpers at yet someone else having to help him with yet another thing he couldn’t do on his own. So scared of the world he couldn’t even keep what’s dangerous straight in his head. His head is starting to hurt a little less though, and his Soul is calming down, not so frantic.

“I think scared is this worst. So many ways to react to that one, or not react.” Honey motions his brother closer to deal with the dislocated shoulder and wrist as he got his arms more snuggly around the little skele’s torso. “Sometimes it comes out of nowhere, sometimes we see it coming from a mile away but still there is nothing to stop being scared. Shh, I’ve got you.”

Honey quickly placed a hand on the little skele’s skull to keep it pressed to his chest when he jerked at Fell relocating his shoulder. He rocks the little skele until the whimpering stops. Blue is glad the little skele hadn’t noticed the damage yet and uses magic to set the hand back into shape, it looks mangled but the bandages had stopped some of the movement of broken bone shards. The little skele has gone complete limp in Honey’s arms except the jostling like he might be crying.

“Is it alright if I move us to the couch?” Honey gives a bit of a squeeze when he gets a whimper for an answer. “Right, you don’t like being pick up… I thought growling meant you don’t like it? No worries, I can get quite comfortable right here.”

“Papy, you cannot just lay in the middle of someone else’s living room!” Blue frets glancing at Fell and Red. “You should at least ask.”

“Better yet. What set the poor thing off?” Honey gazes over to the guilty looking fell monsters. “Did we forget even a Sans this young has probably survived unspeakable nightmares… We probably also forgot that a Sans’s breaking point is usually self-destructive rather than…”

“We get it.” Red growls. “Don’ rub it in.”

“Bro, he should probably have his Soul checked… it looked like he was trying to fall when I grabbed him.” Honey had watched himself do that in the mirror several times out of curiosity, everything was just going to reset anyways. “He’s really cold to the touch as well… Can we get a blanket?”

“Apparently blankets make him feel claustrophobic.” Blue scratches the back of his skull standing over his brother. “He really does need a healing session though… What was the argument you had earlier? That is when his mood started.”

“We discussed what we did.” Fell sighs. “I stripped him of the perceived safety he had accepted.”

“Den, I guess I did somethin’ in da realm of callin’ him a coward.” Red shrugs. “Didn’ mean ta… I can see how he coul’ take it dat way.”

“Poor kid, is probably beating himself up enough as it is for not being able to take care of himself and you went and proved it.” Honey takes a deep breath knowing this isn’t helping then taking notice of the even breathing, a good indicator the little skele has fallen asleep. “Think we may be in the clear now. Does he have any cracks in is Soul? A CHECK won’t set him off will it?”

“He does not ever seem to even notice.” Fell answers with a roll of his eyes. “Do you need me to take him so you can get out of the middle of my floor?”

“Nah, I got ‘em.” Honey sat up keeping a hand to the little skele’s skull. “Yeah, he clocked right out.”

Honey carefully leans the little skele back away from him. He had expected to find wet tearstain on his hoodie from the little skele’s episode but there isn’t even a sign of tears on the little skele’s face. If it wasn’t for the stuttering breath that escaped the sleeping little skele Honey would have thought he imagined the sobbing.

CHECK

Su$pe+N-5

HP 5/10

LV 1

EXP 0

ATK 0

DEF -

Weakling

Doesn’t know what to do

-

-

Laying the little skele back a little further, his hands slip from Honey where they were in no shape to actually grip the fabric underneath them. Honey brings his hand over the now bared chest and coaxes out the little skele’s Soul. He gapes at the state of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings:  
> Little skele dissociates and has a panic attack.  
> Injuries: Hand made worse and shoulder dislocated  
> Honey reflects on times he has given up (Fell down)  
> Self deprecation
> 
> Still not too sure how I am doing on the warnings. If I miss something please let me know.


	56. Chapter 56

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at bottom
> 
> Day Count- 66 (6)
> 
> Our little skele is not doing good. So at least until the day count falls back to just one count be aware of possible hard topics like injuries, panic/anxiety attacks, dissociation, mentions of severe abuse, and other things that could be associated with a recovering kidnap victim. Please consume content safely.

“Don’t wake ‘em.” Honey grumbles not even opening his sockets as Fell goes to shake the little skele under his arm. “He’ll feel obligated to get up.”

“He is not lazy like you, my brother or Comic. Getting up and moving is also good for a healing body.” Fell keeps his voice down anyways. “He also enjoys watching a magnificent chef at work.”

Peeking open only one socket Honey looks up at Fell with fists on hips glaring down at him before looking down to the little skele sleeping on his ribs. Honey doesn’t like how hard the little skele is sleeping, as if he is trying to get what he can while he can; too much like Sans in the lab between tests. Shaking his head of the thoughts Honey brings the hand behind his head down to put a sucker in his mouth.

“He has nightmares.” Honey watches Fell’s eyes flicker to the rooms upstairs and then to the little skele. “He doesn’t wanna sleep.”

“Hmm, what time is it?” Blue wakes up at the other end of the couch. “Fell, are you starting breakfast?”

“Yes, and the bean pole is not allowing me to wake _my_ ward.” Fell gripes halfheartedly. “You made dinner I will make breakfast… Why don’t you get an early healing in, most of the session last night was to reset the bones in that one hand.”

“Sorry, he gets this way with Cherry sometimes as well.” Blue folds up the blanket that had been draped over him. “I will have them both up for breakfast.”

Fell quietly storms off to the kitchen to get breakfast started as Honey resituates himself making sure the little skele is not sliding off him. Blue hops off the couch and wanders over to check on the little skele still quite concerned from the episode last night. Yet the little skele is still out like a light one hand up tangled in the string of Honey’s hoodie.

“Are you still upset about how his Soul looked?” Blue recalls how the black pattern of residual magic had morphed into a thorn pattern with bits of red at the tips; it had been startling. “That is actually very little magic especially compared to the first time I saw it… You really should not have pulled his Soul out anyways.”

“Someone suffering from those kinds of panic attacks usually have bad cracks in their Soul.” Honey rubs the temple of the little skele’s skull resulting in him nuzzling into his chest. “If he was hiding it because he was already asking too much it would have been bad considering it looked like he is trying to fall. Cracks to the Soul make that a whole lot easier.”

“Well he looks better than last night. Can you sit him up so I can get his hands?” Blue tries to withhold his squeal at the adorableness. “He was too worked up last night his magic resisted a lot of my healing… He was so excited yesterday morning because he could twitch his fingers. Then his day ended like… that. Do you think he will ever be able…?”

“No doubt.” Honey sits up with the little skele clutched in one arm as he pets Blue’s head with the other hand. “You are a great healer and I think he is a lot tougher than he has been given credit.”

Blue shakes his head and slaps his cheeks to put his head back on straight so he can focus on what he needs to be doing. Honey looks a bit shocked at first but laughs a bit nervously when he sees the resolve return to his brother’s eyes. Noticing the hand tangled in his hoodie string Honey removes his hand from Blue’s head to untangle it. The little skele squirms at being repositioned especially when it takes him away from the sound of Honey’s Soul. Opening his sockets enough to make out the shape of the person he is whining at the little skele thumps his head back against Honey and falls back asleep.

“And Fell said you were a morning person.” Honey moves his arm out of his brother’s way as he sits next to him. “Sleep, we’ve got you.”

A thump comes from upstairs followed by cursing and laughing. Then Red is standing in front of them rubbing his head and grumbling. Realizing he is in another room with more people, he glares at Honey who is smirking at him. About to snap at him he looks to see the little skele still sleeping. Growling and hearing his brother already in the kitchen Red goes and flops down on the other side of the couch.

“So ya really stayed wit’ da lil guy all nigh’.” Red lays his head over on his fist. “Too early for ya ta be back.”

“Nu-uh, I want to know what that was ‘bout.” Honey continues to smirk. “Fall out of bed?”

“Fuck you.” Red gruffs looking away. “Ya wake up ta Vanilla yellin’ next ta yer head.”

“Sorry Red.” Comic short cuts right on top of Red. “Apparently he is real excited this morning about a new puzzle.”

“Woah, hold still buddy, you’re in the middle of having your hands healed.” Honey adjusts his grip when he feels more stirring from the little skele. “Are you in any pain?”

“He is not circulating his magic enough to tell again.” Blue notices how his healing magic is reacting with the little skele’s hands. “It really would help you heal faster if you kept your magic circulating at a regular rate at all times.”

“Hey pipsqueak. No ‘nes in trouble.” Red gives the little skele time to contemplate what is said, and gets a sleepy shrug. “Wasn’ a question.”

“Has it really been so bad you have to report each morning? What’s the tally?” Honey chuckles trying to keep everything light. “Bet Red has the most… Are you going to start circulating magic?”

“You probably will not be able to tell when he does. I do not think anyone has been able to properly monitor his magic… I can tell when I am healing somewhat.” Blue looks up with an imploring look to the little skele. “But you might still be low; you did not eat dinner… not that I am getting after you. You should eat every meal at least a little and we can help you. We should also give you a painkiller so when you can circulate your magic.”

With a deep sigh, the little skele looks over to the bottle of painkillers on the table and nods to them. Red attempts to get them without throwing Comic into the floor just to decide to dump him there at the last second. Grumbling, Comic shortcuts out of the room to return with a glass of juice. The little skele is trying to slowly build up a decent amount of circulating magic twitching at the sharp pains in his hands and around his neck; a dull ache in the back of his skull is a bit of a surprise though.

“Thank you.” Blue returns his focus back down to the little skele’s hands missing the look of confusion.

Honey quickly swallows a laugh at the way the little skele tilts his head at Blue. Comic has also caught it but is thankfully blocked from view as Red leans around Blue to hand over one of the cut painkillers for the little skele to take. It isn’t until the little skele is relaxing back into Honey that Comic remembers to try to get the little skele to drink a bit. Which is now a bit easier since the little skele is so susceptible to the painkillers’ tranquilizing effect.

“Before ya e’en think ‘bout it, don’” Red looks to Honey as he opens his mouth. “He is high ‘nough ta think pettin’ Boss is a good idea ‘nd get weepy ‘bout a shirt Boss didn’ like.”

“Don’t be mean, he wasn’t weepy, just concerned.” Comic defends with a glint in his eye. “If I recall…”

Red covered Comic’s mouth and shortcuts out of the room. Honey readjust the little skele, who is now relaxed enough to be sliding out of his lap. Blue is carefully moving the little skele’s healing joints around as he heals to hopefully keep up the rehabilitation. As Blue finishes up, Honey holds out a sucker for the little skele.

“Good patients get suckers, or so I am told.” Honey snickers as the little skele stares suspiciously at the candy. “You held still, didn’t cry for no reason, and didn’t bite anyone…”

“He will if you push him and if he has permission to retaliate… Which I give him if you annoy him.” Fell steps back into the room. “Breakfast is ready; do not ruin his appetite with your sugar obsession.”

“You can have it after breakfast.” Honey assures the little skele and rolls his eyes at Fell. “You good to walk?”

“Don’ let ‘em fool ya… or ‘emself.” Red calls from the dining room table. “Don’ need ‘em tryin’ ta crack his skull ‘gain.”

The little skele is too distracted by getting his fingers to twitch feebly at his command. So, cautiously Honey secures his grip around the little skele so he is sitting in his arms and then stands up slowly. The little skele tenses unsurely looking up to Honey then down to the floor unable to withhold the slight whimper. Honey goes to lower the little skele back down but stops when the little skele tucks his head into his ribs unable to see down.

“Oh, hey, Red…” Honey walks around the table next to the Red and sits the little skele in his lap. “You got this right?”

“Hey! Dat’s my trick!” Red hastily turns his head to hide his tooth from the little skele’s view as Honey and Comic chuckle at the turn of events. “Ya all righ’ wit dis kid?”

The little skele stares at his hands for another moment seeing if he can get anything else to happen but gives in with a disappointed sigh and nods. It won’t do any good to have a repeat of last night, letting them help him eat is easier than them having to help him out of an episode because he is stubborn. He is going to try to just be cooperative again. Though, he jerks his head forward hard into Red’s sternum when someone tries to roughly pet his head.

“Wha’ da hell.” Red rubs his sternum as he holds the little skele against him. “Wha’ was dat for?”

“Oh, I didn’t heal the fracture on the back of his skull. I have still been focusing on his hands.” Blue winces at the thought of one of his brother’s affectionate head rubs. “He didn’t mean to.”

“Sorry.” Honey cringes holding his hand away from the little skele. “You alright?”

“Ayt, don’ go pokin’ at it.” Red carefully takes the little skele’s hand to stop him and looks at the fracture when he stops nodding to assure Honey he is okay. “Didn’ agitate it, prolly jus’ surprised ‘em.”

Everyone settles down at the table and enjoys the delicious breakfast Fell made for them. Red did have to remind the little skele that it is only the lasagna Fell made that he has to be wary about tasting between the first few bites. Even then, the little skele barely eats about half a plate of food before refusing anymore and focusing feebly on his uncooperative hands. Fell tasks the clean up to Red and Comic as he takes the little skele to try to start putting more magic in the collar. When placed on the ground the little skele wobbles a bit but now that he is set down refuses further assistance in walking to the living room and climbing onto the couch.

“Why do you have to be so obstinate?” Fell huffs, which causes the little skele to try to look over his shoulder and lose his balance. “BE CAREFUL.”

Fell gets a hand on the little skele’s back to keep him from toppling off of the couch. The little skele flails a bit but stops when he feels the hand catch him. Looking up the little skele hunches in on himself at the glower Fell is hovering over him with. When the little skele whimpers Fell pinches the bone between his sockets.

“Be careful.” Fell pushes the little skele back fully onto the couch. “Get comfortable.”

“Hold on.” Honey presents the sucker he promised the little skele. “Ever have one? Huh, well hold the stick with your teeth and let your magic slowly absorb the candy at the end.”

“Da hell!” Red shortcuts just inside the door. “I swear, I jus’ wanted, uh… Hiya, Boss.”

“And where were you? It has been all of ten minutes since breakfast ended.” Fell stands next to the couch still. “What nonsense have you gotten into?”

“Was jus’ checkin’ my informan’s a’ da bar.” Red quickly defends carefully removing his shoes and jacket while keeping an eye on Fell. “Mutts decided ta be a nuisance dough.”

“This has nothing to do with the bottles stashed in your inventory.” Fell sees the minute flicker in Red’s façade that no one else is likely to see but pretends not too. “Anything to report?”

“As I said I was waylaid by da canines.” Red grumps pulling open his inventory and pulling something out. “I did ge’ dis.”

Red tosses something underhanded towards the little skele sitting on the couch. The little skele falls backwards, startling both Honey and Fell thinking he is hurt. He quickly rolls himself back into a sitting position. Hugged to his chest by his wrists is a small red ball that barely fits in both his hands. Unable to resist the little skele brightens up at having gotten two gifts now.

“Is jus’ a ball.” Red looks at the little skele when pieces fall together. “Blue…! Wha’ did ya find ou’ ‘bout his jacket.”

“Hmm, oh, I was told he does not have one.” Blue steps out into the room drying his hands having been helping Comic with the dishes. “Do you need to take him somewhere?”

“Brother, perhaps you should put a movie in; he needs to sit still for a while.” Fell cuts in before Red can start a rant. “It is much easier to do this when _he_ is calm and distracted.”

Red taps his femur several times as if he is trying to make up his mind about something before huffing and moving to the entertainment center. Fell sits next to the little skele watching him try to figure out how to play with the ball with his limited hand function. Several times Fell has to catch the ball from flying off while keeping the little skele from taking off after it. Then they both go stock-still.

“Blue…” Fell speaks softly as the ball bounces away from them. “How do your magic stores look?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings:  
> Injuries and panic attacks discussed  
> Soul damaged discussed  
> Little skele under the influence of medicine
> 
> Another cliff hanger


	57. Chapter 57

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at bottom
> 
> Day Count- 66 (6)
> 
> Our little skele is not doing good. So at least until the day count falls back to just one count be aware of possible hard topics like injuries, panic/anxiety attacks, dissociation, mentions of severe abuse, and other things that could be associated with a recovering kidnap victim. Please consume content safely.

“No, no. Do not mess with the collar.” Fell gently puts his hands over the little skele’s hands to keep them from pawing at his neck. “Easy, we are working on it. I know you are impatient but, we must do this right.”

“I have a decent reserve because of breakfast but the healing session this morning was extensive.” Blue rushes over in front of the little skele. “I can definitely stabilize just about anything.”

“Are ya gonna tell us wha’s goin’ on?” Red sits anxiously on the couch next to his brother trying not to jostle too much. “Who’s hurt?”

“No one, as of yet.” Fell pulls Blue’s hands up to sit on the little skele’s to free up his own. “Blue I need you to stand by. This can be fifty-fifty on damage but from what I have witnessed he definitely leans towards the negative.”

“No ‘nes doin’ anythin’ else till some’ne explains.” Red feels Comic pull himself out from under him to stand up. “Don’ interrup’ ‘em.”

“Not, just seeing if I can be useful.” Comic looks around and pulls the first aid kit from under the coffee table. “Here, just in case.”

Honey just watches from the floor where he is leaning against the front of the couch in front of Red and Comic so he didn’t distract the little skele anymore than he already was. The little skele is holding completely still even as Fell puts his hand back on his neck near the collar. Red quickly takes notice that the little skele is too still and nudges Comic who has to break his stare from the practically nonexistent eye lights. Quickly understanding Red’s gestures, he taps the table seeing the little skele slightly flinch but bring back his eye lights just a fraction to glance at his hand. Taking in a stuttering breath the exhale comes out a whimper.

“Right, I should be able to remove this now. We both just felt the last of the previous owner’s magic snap.” Fell carefully runs his fingers over the collar. “It is usually a bit of a shock to suddenly be free of that kind of oppressive magic and he is actually having one of the better reaction I have seen… Blue I need to know now if you are up for healing whatever damage we find under this collar. Once I take it off it is off.”

“Wait, is it going to hurt him or has it already hurt him?” Blue’s unable to look at the little skele’s neck past Fell’s hand. “If I am healing something old yes, something new I will be able to stabilize but it will leave him in pain.”

“Please, I am in complete control of the collar it is just fabric at this point.” Fell smirks pretentiously at his accomplishment. “The problem is that the type of magic used to cause this damage will have numbed the pain until there is no magic left in the collar or the collar is removed. We need no reactions to the damage.”

Fell looks at everyone else in the room apart from the little skele who will not be able to see it until he looks in a mirror. Honey gets up from the floor and leans over next to his brother so that the little skele looks over at him. Presenting a small bag of assorted suckers Honey grins as he sets it on the table next to the first aid kit.

“Got a sentry shift to head to.” Honey knows seeing whatever damage is under the collar would set him off in some way. “Continue to be a good patient and the whole bag is yours… That sound good?”

Nodding minutely the little skele relaxes just a bit and Honey pats his head. Before straightening up Honey pets Blue’s head as well seeming to help him settle down some as well. Then grabs his bottle of honey from the coffee table and waves goodbye to the group. Blue looks to the bag of candy and shakes his head.

“I hope you know even though those are yours you are not allowed to eat them all in one sitting.” Blue lectures. “You will give yourself a stomachache.”

Red quickly covers his mouth to stifle the laugh that tries to burst forth when the little skele cocks his head to the side and removes his hand from under Blue’s to indicate the empty space where a stomach would normally be found on a fleshy being. Both Fell and Blue groan even though it doesn’t seem to have been the little skele’s intention to irritate them which sets Comic into a chuckling fit. Attempting to distract himself Red sends a message to Honey to let him know what he caused.

“I am going to go back to the removal of this collar if that is alright with everyone.” Fell huffs and examines the collar one more time. “This will not be the most pleasant experience but you must not fight us. Try to keep a clear head for us… Are you ready?”

The little skele gives a stiff nod and stares at the TV so his focus is off what Fell is doing. Blue sees Fell glance to him for confirmation that he is also ready to go and he steadies his hands on the little skele’s hands until he is needed for healing as he nods. Now over his fit of laughter Comic schools his expression to wait for anything he can do.

Fell floods the collar with overwhelming intent, even as passive as it is it causes the little skele to jerk under his hands. Although he does not pull away from Fell, Blue has to carefully keep the little skele from bringing his hands up in retaliation to the feeling. Raising his sights to the ceiling so his chin is raised the little skele shuts his sockets tight. Fell’s fingers find the seam and unfurls what could be mistaken as a strip of thick ribbon from around the little skele’s neck. Blue’s hands come up only about halfway before he hesitates a fraction of second at seeing the damage.

“Easy, I got you.” Blue assures as the little skele whines when Fell keeps his hands from reaching the damage. “Just relax, it will stop in a minute.”

“Gave the owner of that collar quite the run around, didn’t you?” Fell sounds impressed. “Comic, coat some of that gauze in that healing gel and we will wrap it. Do not worry, it will feel far different from the collar. Red, get that collar in a box.”

Red is gone in a shortcut and back before Comic can even finish prepping the bandages. Cautiously as if the collar is a living riled up creature ready to strike Red flicks it off the table into the small box he found and snaps the lid shut. Blue can only keep the healing up for about twenty minutes before feeling too drained to continue. Fell nods and turns the little skele’s head side to side a bit to examine the remaining damage before letting Blue apply the bandaging.

“You did quite well, usually there is a lot more struggling and fussing.” Fell finally releases the little skele’s hands. “Try not to prod at it, it needs time to heal.”

“…” The little skele elatedly turns to Fell but it falls harshly when his thanks never leaves his mouth.

Fell studies the little skele trying to figure out what just happened. His face grows concerned as the little skele gently pressed a few fingers to the bandages where the collar had been. The little skele’s face falls into a look of frustration when Fell finally pieces together what is going on.

“The collar never had orders to keep you from speaking… You aren’t normally nonverbal, are you?” Fell pulls out the abridged instruction book, looking as if it offended him. “You just refused to speak…”

“Da lines in his neck are prolly damaged.” Red speaks up. “Had trouble circulatin’ his magic when he had da fever.”

The little skele suddenly goes far past frustrated, furious that so much was stolen from him, it is too much. Flooding his system with magic he feels the now familiar sparks in his neck and ignores it for the time being. He attempts to yell with all he has until he is out of breath but nothing happens. Catching his breath he tries again with the same results. The third attempt leaves him light headed and slumping forward from the exertion.

“Hey, bud, let’s give that a rest for a bit.” Comic held the sobbing little skele’s shoulders. “You just got out of the collar, no need to wear yourself out.”

Comic tries to rub some of the tears form the little skele’s face even though they are still rolling pretty heavily from his sockets. Blue stands to the side just a bit, not sure how to comfort the little skele without potentially outright lying, all this damage may have permanently disabled the little skele and someone from the _good_ side had done it. Fell and Red are out of their comfort zone in the whole soothing a crying monster category like this, so just sit back to watch Comic try his hand at it. Stubbornly the little skele tries to shout about the unfairness of it but…

“ _MEW_ ” The little skele’s face lights up blue across his zygomatic bone in his embarrassment at whatever that sound he just made was.

“Well… phht… Dat is, uh, dat is some’in…” Red is trying very hard not to laugh especially with his brother glaring over at him. “More dan a growl or whimper ya have been doin’.”

“Juice, you are probably thirsty, right?” Blue starts making his way to the kitchen and almost too quietly for anyone to hear mumbles. “…like a kitten.”

*Cough* “Anyways, I should probably get this to Undyne for proper storage.” Fell stuffs the box with the collar in it, into his inventory. “Hopefully she doesn’t insist on some kind of follow up.”

“Just collar up, tell her you will get it to her after he leaves.” Comic grins when the little skele caught his pun. “At leash give us time to escape.”

The little skele still can’t audibly laugh but all the frustration drained from him makes him feel just a bit punchy, so he is trying to catch his breath between giggling. Leveling his magic back out to something more akin to normalcy his injuries buzz with agitation but are not overly painful, he must be at the tail end of the painkillers effects. Laughing brings his attention back to the others as they are obviously still bouncing puns back and forth to irritate Fell or Blue who is walking back into the room. Blue sits next to the little skele to help him with the juice and takes a deep breath.

“How long do you need to keep him under observation before he is good to go?” Blue brought the banter to a sudden halt. “He will probably only need a few more healing sessions before what I am capable of doing is done… So taking him home would probably be the best for him, so he can start readjusting and everything.”

“Right, of course.” Fell thinks for a moment. “Should make sure… He should stay for dinner and by then everything should be stable.”

“Den ya should prolly hold off on leavin’ so ya can monitor ‘im.” Red gets up looking around the room. “Ya have to make sure his meals ‘re satisfactory and all dat.”

“Oh, here.” Comic digs through the bag of suckers. “For being such a grape patient.”

“Nooooo.” Blue whines. “You just stopped.”

“Wha’? Not havin’ a ball yet?” Red tosses the red ball back to the little skele who manages to somewhat catch it. “Ya should jus’ roll wit’ it.”

“Those are horrible.” Blue groans keeping the ball from getting away from the little skele. “You are being horrible examples.”

Still laughing Comic unwraps the sucker before holding it out for the little skele. This flavor isn’t as good as the last one but isn’t bad. Then the little skele sets the ball in Blue’s lap and gets up. Curious what he is up to no one stops him as he starts going through the bag of suckers. Fell comes over to stop him if he tries to eat too many while Red flops on the couch to watch whatever the little skele is up to. None of them are prepared when he manages to pull his hand out with five suckers between his fingers. Turning to Comic because he is the closest the little skele motions for him to take a specific one. Then turns to Fell and motions for him to come down closer so he can point the one he is supposed to take. Red goes along with it when the little skele comes up to him. Then Blue holds his hands out as the little skele drops the last two in his hand motioning that one is for Blue and the other for a tall person.

“Oh, you are sharing these with us… You want me to give this one to my brother, Honey, right?” Blue throws his hands around the little skele’s shoulders causing him to flail a bit. “That is so nice of you. You do not have to; my brother gave them to you.”

The little skele motions to the sucker already in his mouth and then the bag with plenty still in it, enough to share with the gang too with some still left over. Red looks at his sucker like he is solving a very difficult equation before unwrapping the sucker and popping it between his teeth. He had not expected the little skele to look that excited about his decision. Comic crinkling the paper off his sucker watches as the little skele grins over at him too.

“Thanks, kiddo.” Comic pets the little skele’s head. “Favorite flavor is cherry; how did you know?”

Red almost chokes pulling his sucker from his mouth before quickly tossing it back in before anyone can look back at him. Fell and Blue both look to each other unable to repress sighs that house their internal struggle about eating sweats, especially so close to breakfast. They had both ended up with flavors they favored as well. It is worth it to watch the little skele light up at them accepting his small gift.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings:  
> Injury under collar  
> Consideration of how permanent the little skele's injuries have handicapped him.  
> Slightly destructive behavior as the little skele tries to force himself to do things his injuries won't allow.


	58. Chapter 58

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at the bottom
> 
> Day Count: Day 66
> 
> Collar removal arch is complete, now what happens when it is time to return to the gang.

“I removed that collar so I better not see you in another.” Fell helps the little skele into a black sweater they had scrounged up (bought) for him. “You better be strong enough to keep yourself out of another one.”

“If we meet ‘gain ya better be well ‘nough for me ta take out.” Red pats the little skele’s shoulder. “Cain’t have an eye on ya da whole time so ya gotta be able ta defend yerself.”

“What these emotionally constipated idiots are trying to say is that we hope you get better soon.” Comic laughs as both Fell and Red look away as they start blushing. “Just take care of yourself out there. Hope to see you again.”

“We appreciate all the help.” Blue pulls the little skele under his arm. “I could not have found any one better to remove the collar. I will see you guys around.”

A bit unsurely the little skele waves back at the others as Blue leads him out the door. It clicks shut behind them with several locks being thrown as well. When they enter the shed Blue moves over to the machine and begins typing at the computer. Blue seems well practiced with the machine and it is soon whirring to life.

“Come on.” Blue motions for the little skele to come over with him. “We have one more jump after this.”

The little skele is getting nervous as they go through the portal and Blue goes to the computer again to enter the next coordinates. It takes no time at all before they are going back through the machine but the next location feels off. Taking up a defensive position close to Blue looking around for something to happen.

“Are you alright?” Blue touches the little skele’s shoulder causing him to jump and growl. “Woah, easy, there is nothing to worry about here, it’s an abandoned AU.”

Blue soothingly rubs the top of the little skele’s skull before placing a hand on his back to lead him through Snowdin and into the forest. Pulling out his phone Blue starts sending out a few messages while his feet seem to find their own way. Walking in the quiet gives the little skele too much time to think as they make their way to the familiar clearing Nightmare usually made portals for them.

“Alright, you ready?” Blue looks over the little skele as the dark portal opens. “Time for you to go home.”

Taking a deep breath, the little skele steps through before Blue into the living room of the hide out. Dust and Killer are playing video games with Dust on his feet agitated with Killer who is beating him. Cross is laughing on the couch at the others bantering. The little skele stands unable to move as his mind tumbles through many dark thoughts.

I couldn’t do it; I couldn’t hang on long enough. Will they even still want me to come back after all of this. Nightmare will have to decide what happens to me. My voice and hands may never fully come back making me even less useful than before. It is all my fault but I…

“You’re back!” Cross dashes over hugging the little skele to him.

That outcry has gotten everyone’s attention and controllers clatter to the floor. The little skele barely gets his hands up to return Cross’s hug when Killer is at his side adding his arms to the hug. Dust practically tackles the group who is luckily braced for it. Hearing a door open the little skele tries to look around for the missing skeletons only for his vision to be blocked as Horror grabs the group at the little skele’s back. Lost in his excitement of being accepted back the little skele does something that freezes the equally excited group; he tries to speak.

“Did… Hey!” Dust gripes as the little skele disappears from the middle of their group hug. “Nightmare.”

“He just got back and you are already attempting to overwhelm him.” Nightmare stands hands in his pockets with the little skele now sitting at his side and looking up at him from where he pulled him through his shadow. “…Did you just…?”

“The collar damaged the magic lines in his throat.” Blue stands aside smiling widely at the welcome the little skele received. “I tried to do a bit of healing to the lines but that is incredibly delicate work and I cannot see the lines.”

With a sigh Nightmare looks down at the little skele still sitting on the ground next to him and reaches down to pull him back to his feet. Once he is on his feet Nightmare notices the expectant look he is aiming at him. Though he starts studying the floor the second he realizes he has gotten Nightmare’s attention.

“Why didn’t ya give us more notice?” Horror gripes at Blue. “I told him I would have a feast for him when he got back.”

“How are your other injuries?” Cross moves to rush over but stops short. “We hugged you without asking and kinda forgot.”

“Right, I have some of the really strong painkillers they insisted on sending with me to make sure you would have time to get him more if you did not have any.” Blue moves towards the kitchen. “He should take something before settling down for the night, I will get him something to drink.”

“Hey, hand the pills over.” Dust grabs the back of Blue’s shirt. “Not giving him anything we haven’t inspected.”

“Fine, fine.” Blue digs in his inventory and hands over the bottle with two pills split in half. “He has been taking them most of the week already though, only half a pill every twelve hours… give or take. It hits him hard at first but does not seem to last long in some aspects but he does not seem to return to being in pain.”

“Gah! Oven!” Horror rushes from the room and into the kitchen. “Cookies!”

“Wait for me.” Blue escapes Dust and runs into the kitchen.

“You…” Nightmare pulls the little skele closer to him by the back of his sweater and speaks only loud enough for him. “You have not forgotten you are mine. Until I say otherwise your usefulness, your worth, everything, is decided by me.”

Nightmare feels tension drain from the little skele and keeps a hold of him to make sure he isn’t passing out. The little skele looks up over his shoulder with a relieved smile as he nods in understanding. With Blue distracted in another room Nightmare takes the chance to look over the little skele. Pushing up the sleeves of the little skele’s sweater Nightmare studies the shape the bandages take, obviously hands. The little skele jerks from Nightmare with a yelp when he messes with the bandages.

“Hmm! What’s up?” Fresh jerks up from the couch where he is napping straightening his shades. “Yo, you’re back bruh.”

“Sorry Fresh, I didn’t see you sleeping there.” Nightmare watches Fresh come over and places a hand back on the little skele’s shoulder. “Did I hurt your hands?”

Although the little skele is keeping his hands tucked in close to his chest he controls his shaking as he shakes his head. It wasn’t his intention to react like that, Nightmare would not have hurt him and his injuries are no longer so bad that taking the bandages off would be detrimental. Nightmare had half expected that kind of reaction but the little skele is taking it a lot harder than that. Fresh hesitates a step behind the little skele.

“Is that a crack in the back of your skull, bruh?” Fresh looks a bit concerned. “That looks new.”

“What!?” Nightmare forces the little skele’s head forward to see the damage Fresh noticed. “How did this happen? I did not notice this before you left… BLUE!”

“Sheesh, what are we yelling for?” Killer looks over from inspecting the pills with Dust. “What did Blue do now?”

“What, what happened?” Blue rushes out cup in hand and dodges Nightmare’s tentacle. “I thought we were playing nice.”

“You were supposed to be responsible for his safety.” Nightmare growls not noticing the little skele shrinking in on himself. “Then you brought him back with new injuries.”

“Wait, wait, wait. I just did not want to speak in front of everyone in case it is a sensitive subject. It seemed more important to get him settled in for the night.” Blue dodges a grasping tentacle. “What sent you into protective papa mode!?”

“Uh-oh, time to duck and cover.” Fresh chuckles and grabs the little skele’s sleeve. “Let’s… uh, bruh?”

Nightmare is mad. It is completely my fault though. I couldn’t do anything. Unable to do something as simple as feeding myself I set myself off so Red triggered my panic attack. Couldn’t even sort through the voices, they weren’t even there. I should step in to help Blue, he tried to help, I think… I can’t I screwed up so bad last time. _SUBJECT 5-4-N-5_. Can’t go one day without losing control.

“Woah, hey, don’t bring that mess over here.” Fresh is moved out of the way by the little skele. “Bruh, you good?”

“No, no, no, what did we do this time?” Blue turns his attention to the little skele at Fresh’s reprimand. “How should we…”

Too focused on tending to the little skele Blue stops paying attention to Nightmare’s assault. The little skele is too used to monitoring the whole field that he reacts to seeing Nightmare’s tentacle coming for Blue’s back. It is a simple act to kick a foot out from under Blue from his flat footed stance and sweep his elbow to knock him out of the way. He slips out of the tentacles path but collapses onto it as the world hazes over.

“*Shoot*… Fresh… Hey, are you still conscious?” Nightmare wants to curse as he pulls the little skele to him only to realize the state he is in. “Easy, just breathe… calm down. Should have realized you were still… Never mind, do you want to go lay in your room?”

Whimpering the little skele shakes his head, that is the last thing he wants. Nightmare growls at Blue, who looks away with a sigh, as he swipes the tears from the little skele’s cheeks. The little skele can’t help but to try curling in closer to Nightmare which calms his shivering. Once he has calmed down he opens his sockets, not even having realized he shut them to begin with, to find himself curled up in Horror’s lap. Horror notices the little skele becoming coherent.

“Cookie?” Horror offers and the little skele nods. “Here, chocolate chip.”

Grabbing said offering from the plate sitting within Horror’s reach, since he is the one stuck in place, Horror helps him lean up a bit. Mind still fuzzy the little skele brings up a useless hand instantly ashamed of his own idiocy and buries his face in Horror’s hoodie. A squeeze around his ankle startles him out of his momentary hiding place and he looks down to his ankle. Nightmare has a tentacle around his ankle and is sitting next to them with Cross laying against his other side. Calming down he allows Horror to feed him two cookies.

“Have you been having a lot of those?” Nightmare asks quietly and the little skele nods honestly. “We will have to find a way for you to signal us that something is wrong until you get your voice back. For now, just get some rest.”

Looking up at Horror, wondering if he is planning to sleep out here all night like this, the red eye light staring down at him is just lightly studying. Apparently finding what he is looking for Horror curls up on his side of the couch tucking the little skele between himself and the back of the couch. Engulfed in warmth with just that hint of cold still around his ankle the little skele drifts off into actual sleep.

CHECK

Skeleton

HP 15/15

LV 1

EXP 0

ATK 0

DEF -

Exhausted

Disappointing everyone

Home (still welcome)

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings:  
> The little skele spends the majority of the chapter anxious about his return and acceptance back at the hideout.  
> Panic attack with loss of time


	59. Chapter 59

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings... I don't think there are any this time. Just some sparring mostly. Enjoy and let me know if I am wrong.
> 
> Day 67

“Grr, I thought when you said training you meant magic circulation, laps, not sparring.” Blue gripes next to Nightmare. “You are all too rough, I finally have his hands back together, and cannot stay forever to keep healing them.”

“Dude, how would you feel if you were forced to chill for days on end?” Fresh plays buffer between Nightmare and Blue. “Was kinda considering he was some variant of you before they saw his verse.”

“Hmm, would account for his size.” Blue gets distracted. “How far out of stripes did you say he is?”

“I didn’t, you’re digging.” Nightmare growls warningly. “And they are not sparring, at least Cross and him aren’t…”

It is a good thing they aren’t too, the little skele is hesitating and second guessing every other move he makes. Nightmare is grinding his teeth at the display, he had not expected this much of an impact on the little skele’s ability, especially after last night’s spectacle. To make it worse the little skele is constantly pulling his attention from the fight to look to the others trying to gauge something. Cross is having to adjust to try to be more careful of the little skele’s injuries. The little skele can tell all this as well stressing him more.

“Cross.” Nightmare grins maliciously. “Don’t let up.”

Cross jolts at the sudden command but trusting Nightmare’s decision launches into a fiercer onslaught against his opponent. The little skele brings his hands up quickly realizing his mistake and dodging out of the way. Breathing deeply as he ducks under Cross’s high kick another kick follows soon after. Blocking is off the table for the little skele so he drops his hands to his sides like he had in the past. As soon as Cross sees him drop into the stance he learned from watching Dust he pushes him harder.

“Wowwie, why can he suddenly…?” Blue watches stunned by what he is seeing. “Is he strong?”

“What, afraid he is on our side?” Nightmare sneers over at Blue. “He could prove quite deadly.”

“Shoot.” Cross is startled as the little skele invades his space.

The little skele jumps straight up with his knee going directly for Cross’s chin. Cross barely gets a hand up in time to cushion the blow. The force of it knocks Cross’s stance loose as his eye lights go hazy and he lets himself go to the ground. Instantly the little skele is standing by his head looking a little shocked and concerned as Cross blinks several times to clear his head. Sitting up a bit too fast Cross shakes his head to fight off the dizziness.

“Ow.” Cross grins dazedly at the little concerned skele. “Where did that come from?”

Falling back on to his coccyx the little skele sighs in relief. Cross flexes his hand from catching the blow and rubs his chin from where the power of the blow bled through. It doesn’t take long for those from the sidelines to come rushing over to check on them. As Nightmare CHECKS them Cross groans, it was just a single blow.

“Come on, he didn’t hit me that hard.” Cross pouts but allows Nightmare to tilt his chin up. “Didn’t even lose consciousness.”

“You did not immediately get up either.” Nightmare lets Cross go, letting him get up, before turning to the little skele. “You, stop over thinking… Have you tried summoning ecto recently?”

“Ecto flesh?” Blue looks bewildered at Nightmare. “He ca-”

“I was not asking you.” Nightmare held a tentacle over Blue’s mouth before he could mess with his experiment. “So, give it a try… Do not hurt yourself.”

Figuring Nightmare is wanting to make sure he is maintaining a suitable level of magic circulation the little skele takes a deep breath to focus. When the ecto forms from phalange to scapula the little skele can’t help but to growl at the uncomfortable feeling in his hands. Twitching his hands as if something unpleasant is stuck to them the little skele looks down to figure out what is going on. Blue has pulled away from Nightmare and is bent over in laughter.

“Easy, what’s wrong?” Nightmare keeps the little skele from continuing to shake his hands and the little skele just stares at his hands confused. “Are the bandages irritating? You can unsummon it if you want.”

With a bit of an irritated chuff the little skele lets the ecto fade back away. Then although he does not get much movement he wiggles his fingers which is more than the slight twitching. Blue is staring awe struck at the little skele between the ecto and the progress his hands were already making. Nightmare thumps him in the back of the head when he continues to just gawk.

“He should not have been able to do that.” Blue turns disbelieving to confront Nightmare. “And his magic has no color. How… why… does he…”

“That was very articulate, Blue.” Nightmare rolls his eye light and lifts the little skele to his feet. “Go watch the others spar… Never tell us that we cannot do something.”

That time Blue felt a bit menaced by the tone of Nightmare’s warning. It makes Blue wonder if he had managed to say what he wanted to if the little skele would have had more trouble doing what should not be possible. Blue has never seen anyone summon ecto over something so intrusive as bandages completely wrapping his hands, maybe a small singular band-aid but… could anyone do that? Joining them at the other spar Blue watches Cross explain to Fresh and the little skele what he could about the fighting they were seeing.

“Winner gets the larger slice of cake after dinner.” Nightmare calls out to add chaos to the melee. “Loser has to sing I’m a little teacup.”

Horror suddenly tosses Dust into Killer with a mischievous grin as they tumble away. Killer and Dust quickly separate so as not get caught up in each other’s attacks. Blue bristles at the sudden increase of violence as weapons are drawn. Dust’s magic hinders Horror’s charge as he has to zigzag to keep from stumbling. None of them focus on just one opponent as the one with no focus on them uses underhanded tactics to trip up and add up little nicks if ignored for too long. Nightmare catches Killer as he is tossed hard from a hit and is bleeding from the ulna from the axe wound Horror gave him. With a curse Killer wanders over to start patching himself up.

“Aren’t they getting a little out of hand?” Blue watches as Horror’s axe barely misses burying into Dust femur. “First off it is just cake… Second-”

Cross grabs Blue and yanks him out of the way of a volley of bones that Horror dodged. Nightmare manages to jump out of the way with Fresh startled but wrapped in a tentacle. To both of the rescuers surprise the little skele is not hauled out of the way and does not move on his own. Yet the little skele stands exactly where he was with several bones imbedded in the ground around him. The little skele is acting as if a dangerous attack didn’t just miss him by just millimeters as his eye lights continue tracking the fight.

“What have I said about monitoring your surroundings!?” Nightmare growls marching back over to scold the little skele but is knocked off guard by the surprised squeaky ‘mew’ he hears as he grabs him. “So, I was not imagining that sound last night… Why didn’t you move?”

The little skele looks at the shattering magic attacks that had clearly not hit him. Further inspecting the little skele Nightmare starts to realize the lack of evidence that the attacks even skimmed the little skele’s clothing. Horror is sitting on Dust when they realize Nightmare’s attention is no longer on them and he is examining the little skele after yelling at them for failing to monitor their surroundings. Cringing a bit, they rush over to apologize for the negligence.

“Did you even move?” Nightmare asks not noticing the growing crowd. “Could you track all of those attacks?”

“You determined that out of sixteen sharp bones headed in your direction that none of them were going to hit you if you held still while still watching them fight?” Cross huffs out a bit of an astonished laugh as the little skele tilts his head and nods seeming confused. “I guess it isn’t really all too surprising when you remember how hard it is to hit you. Even heavily distracted it is hard to hit you, though that is partly a bit of hesitance on my part as well but…”

“Wait my cluster of attack magic hit over here and didn’t so much as graze you?” Dust lifts the little skele from behind in an attempt to get a better look at his shirt but the little skele’s noise of protest freezes his attempts. “Oh, that is adorable, and now you are growling.”

With how embarrassing that noise is the little skele almost wishes he wasn’t able to make any noise at all (almost). The little skele puts up with Dust hugging him to his chest and Killer petting the top of his skull with a sigh. Then with a wicked grin Cross steps up and quickly runs his fingers under the little skele’s sockets before hopping back to safety cackling with laughter. Confused the little skele tries to rub at his face not sure what that had been about.

“I am not the only one seeing the similarities.” Blue is clutching his stomach laughing. “It is so adorable.”

“Oh, *fudge* he hasn’t ever seen a cat.” Killer pulls out his phone. “Maybe I can find a video or…”

“He met Doomfanger, Fell’s cat, while he was staying at their house.” Blue takes a deep breath to stop laughing. “Was that the first cat you have ever seen?”

“Does that thing even count as a cat?” Dust recalls the beast jumping on his head in an alternate AU when he was sneaking around causing trouble. “It isn’t cute and doesn’t meow.”

“It is kind of cute, especially when…” Blue holds his phone up with a picture of the little skele laying on the couch trying to get his fingers working with Doomfanger laying on top of him. “I sent most of his update pictures to Killer, but did not want to send too many.”

“And you didn’t share.” Dust looks to the phone still in Killer’s hand. “Come on let me see.”

The little skele squirms in Dust’s grasp only for Dust to readjust his hold and continue eyeing Killer’s phone. Looking around he spots Nightmare and gives him a pleading look. His help would have been swifter but between the drawn on whiskers from Cross and the way Dust has him the little skele looks very much like the put upon pet cat in an over eager child’s hands. Nightmare, rebooting his thoughts (now he knew how Error felt sometimes), pulls the little skele from Dust’s arms.

“Awe, I wasn’t done yet.” Dust lets go of the little skele to pounce on Killer for his phone. “Let me see.”

“What the *heck*?” Killer holds his phone away from Dust. “Blue just said he has more than he even sent me, get his phone.”

“Don’t have to…” Dust looks back at Blue. “I was the distraction.”

From his spot half hidden behind Nightmare, the little skele watches Horror snatch up Blue from behind as Cross swoops in to nab his phone. Fresh catches it as Cross tosses it his way and looks around at the others to figure out what the plan is supposed to be. Blue slips from Horror’s grip, since he isn’t really trying to detain the other, and goes for his phone that quickly gets tossed over his head. With a sigh Nightmare goes to step back from the soon to start game of keep away when he feels his arm brush against the little skele.

“*Darn* it, oh for *fudge* sake, Fresh, really?” Nightmare watches Fresh look over smiling and shrugs. “And what are you doing?”

Thinking he might be in trouble the little skele whines, just sort of shrugging as he lifts his useless hands just enough to look at them. Nightmare realizing the little skele cannot join in the bit of fun the rest were having and had just escaped their embarrassing attention, pets the top of the little skele’s skull. Accepting the attention, the little skele lets his hands drop, Nightmare isn’t upset with him.

“Horror, weren’t you going to make a special dinner tonight?” Nightmare watches Horror think and then remember. “You still have time, want to take him with you?”

“Ah shoot, we were leaving ya out weren’t we.” Horror tosses the phone to Cross and rushes over scooping up the little skele. “Come on, ya can help me in the kitchen… I’ll find ya something to do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of normalcy does wonders for the little skele. Cooking time with Horror, even better.


	60. Chapter 60

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at the bottom
> 
> Day 67

“Alright, try this one.” Horror flips a piece of food from the spatula through the air and right into the little skele’s mouth. “Ha! Five out of five!”

Although the little skele manages the bite of food he can’t help but to make a bit of a face that Horror notices. Quickly getting him the cup he is using Horror helps him get a sip to wash out the taste as he slightly chuckles (the kid is allowed to dislike perfectly seasoned and cooked foods). Then steps back over to continue cooking as the little skele pushes bowls of prep to him. Horror makes a note in his phone.

“Well, four out of five approved. No worries, someone will eat it.” Horror notices the little skele looking curiously at his phone. “Oh, never did explain did I? Memory isn’t too great, and this is less wasted paper and harder to lose… See, my background is even things I need to remember daily.”

Horror had motioned to the hole in his head when he referred to his memory. The little skele had never really thought about what kind of damage the hole is or what effect it had on Horror, Horror is just Horror. He has noticed on some of Horror’s off days it took longer for him to respond to things, or he would refer to his phone more often. Sometimes the others would jump in to assist Horror but no one did it out of pity.

“Ya are still worried about yer hands.” Horror broke into the little skele’s thoughts and continues before he can start feeling shame. “It will get better; we will stick with ya even if it takes years. We will figure out the communication thing too.”

Horror is slipping too deep into his thoughts, probably with things he wants to say or ask but not allowed or sure how to. So the little skele decides to try to prove he’s alright (isn’t completely a lie) and when he tries speaking this time some kind of cat like chirp sound escapes. Having never heard anything like that before the little skele can’t help the confused look he has on when Horror glances over. A second attempt just results in the mew sound he is more familiar with.

“Are ya part cat?” Horror questions almost seriously. “Wonder what yer Gaster used to make ya… Well that was rather rude of me, sorry… I think that should do it. Would ya like to try to let the others know while I set the table?”

Thinking for a moment the little skele gets an idea and nods. Jumping down from the counter causes Horror a moment of worry but he is soon rushing out the kitchen door. Everyone but Nightmare is in the living room in the midst of a gaming tournament with some kind of fighting game. Cross and Blue are battling it out already having knocked the others from the running. Fresh is sitting on the coffee table so he can see the button mashing going on. Killer and Dust are on the couch, the former heckling the two still playing while the later just lounges lazily in his seat closest to the kitchen door.

No one noticing him as he walks to the arm of the couch next to where Dust is lounging the little skele gives it a second. Then launches himself over Dust’s lap while making that chirp sound he figured out earlier. As Dust jumps from the surprise he almost sends the little skele into the air, might have actually succeeded if the blue magic had managed to stick.

“*Fricken* stars above.” Dust takes a deep breath and half leans over the little skele. “Who taught you that?”

Dust’s outcry had startled the rest of the room. Killer is now sitting sidewards on the couch in a bit of a crouch. The game is paused because Blue notices that Cross has dropped his controller and doesn’t want to take advantage of that. While Fresh is stifling his giggles as he falls off the coffee table. Grinning widely the little skele thinks on who taught him this prank (jump scare he thinks Cross called it) and points his whole hand to the culprit reaching down for his controller.

“I just about sent you through the ceiling.” Dust looks up to Cross. “I thought you were going to be the good influence?”

“I almost forgot I taught him that. It was the same night we taught him about whoopi cushions.” Cross thinks. “And he managed to scare everyone in a brightly lit room with no scary ambiance.”

“So is there any particular reason you decided to scare us out of our skin.” Killer hears Blue groan as he chuckles. “Do you have a bone to pick with us?”

Dust can feel the little skele silently laughing at the puns. Calming down the little skele sees he has most of the rooms attention still and points to his mouth then the dining room. Blue flops to the floor as Cross finishes him off in the game. Trying to get up Dust moves his hands over the little skele to get a good grip but he jerks under his hand.

“Hold on, did I just find a funny bone?” Dust gives the little skele a moment to object. “Cause this is going to be humerous. Revenge!”

Of course the little skele makes the token attempt to try to get away. Dust attacks the little skele’s ribs and quickly has to hug the struggling skele from falling to the floor. Figuring he has deprived the little skele of oxygen long enough he just holds him until he catches his breath. The little skele is still curled up on himself protecting his ribs half-heartedly and Dust lifts him up to carry to the dining room. When they get into the dining room Nightmare has a brow raised at them.

“He’s ticklish.” Dust states completely deadpan as if that explains everything as he places the kid in the chair next to Horror and slumps into the one next to that. “Wow, lots of good food.”

“Wowwie, are any of these his favorite?” Blue looks at the spread. “Oh, I should do at least one more healing session but I really don’t feel comfortable leaving without getting one more look. Would you be okay with that?”

The little skele freezes in his attempts to readjust himself in his chair. By all logic the little skele knows there is no reason to be afraid of taking the bandages off but, just the thought causes what feels like a jolt to his Soul. He is able to keep himself from whimpering but can’t look at his hands without seeing the dust fall away again. Apparently lost in thought the little skele doesn’t realize what he is trying to do until Nightmare has his wrist.

“If you are not up for it just indicate no.” Nightmare is carefully pulling the little skele’s hand from his humerous. “We can check when you are ready.”

The little skele shrugs unable to commit either way. No one pushes him to give a definitive answer just yet and start making plates. Killer takes the little skele’s hand from Nightmare and picks up his fork. As he pulls a roll of medical tape out it gets the little skele’s attention. Curiously the little skele watches Killer fold his fingers around the fork.

“Alright, I think this is how you usually hold it right?” Killer lets the little skele look and approve before taping his hand in place. “There we go, how’s that? If you need any more help just let someone know.”

Having been keeping notes while he was cooking and talking to the little skele, Horror makes him a decent plate trying not to over fill it but get a variety of food on it. The little skele brings his plate closer and spends several minutes trying to figure out how best to go about attempting eating like this. Even as he gets a few bites he is starting to get frustrated at losing forkfuls of food back on to his plate more than a few times. Almost seeming as if it is absentmindedly Horror rubs his head soothing the frustration. When he actually manages to finish his plate he tries not to look overly proud of himself.

“Are ya still hungry?” Horror looks over the table at what is still left. “There is plenty and this is a feast to welcome ya back.”

The little skele looks over all of the delicious food as well. It had been quite the task eating the first plate full of food. Now he is definitely feeling like he is on the edge of being full. He is pretty sure those weeks of capture had wrecked his system again and would need to take it easy on large meals especially of such rich foods.

“We can save some for later.” Nightmare looks across the table to Blue. “How were his meals while away?”

“Fell cooked most of the meals. Mostly light foods.” Blue thinks. “We did go a bit overboard with Fell, Vanilla, and me cooking a dinner together but Red made sure he didn’t eat anything he shouldn’t. He never ate very much, I figured it had a lot to do with the painkillers.”

“Is that what you figured?” Nightmare looks at the little skele, who has conveniently ducked back behind Horror’s bulk. “Horror, he’s going to need looking after.”

“Well, ya probably have at least enough room for some dessert.” Horror looks to the hiding little skele. “It’s cake… Hold on there is something about…”

“Right, you won earlier so you get a larger piece.” Killer sweats as he informs Horror hoping the promise of more cake will keep him from checking his notes. “What kind is it again?”

Horror looks over at Killer suspiciously but gets up to retrieve the cake from the kitchen so Nightmare could fairly cut it for them. As everyone is distracted with the cake coming in Dust reaches over to keep the little skele from wiping his mouth off, on his bandages. Nightmare takes the decorated strawberry cake and evenly cuts all but one slice which goes to Horror.

“We still owe ya a cake don’t we?” Horror contemplates pulling his phone back out to swipe through, as the other thinks about it and suddenly tenses. “Ya just didn’t know enough about cake to choose a flavor.”

“And why is he owed a cake?” Nightmare looks around the table at the hesitant glances. “I would really like to hear this.”

“Uh, oops, that was…” Horror closes his phone and glances at Nightmare. “That was over a month ago, I think, uh, kinda fuzzy.”

“A month ago… Does this have something to do with the sign Ink had on his back for his entire day off, well I guess he did end up working.” Blue contemplates. “There were pictures all over the net of him walking around with a sign on his back that said… hold on, let me find one of the pictures.”

“Pinch me I’m a dork.” Killer finally admits. “We kinda made a bet to see who can get it on a Star Sans’ back. It was sorta assumed we would get one during a fight and then Cross sent us a video.”

“The video?” Nightmare feels his phone vibrate. “Eat your cake.” (The before I change my mind heavily implied)

Nightmare opens his phone to find the video had been sent to him by Cross. Sitting back in his seat he eats his cake as he plays the video to find out what trouble his boys had caused. He is about half way through the video gritting his teeth as his newest fool snuck up on a distracted Ink, when he pauses upon hearing the distinct tapping of cutlery on a plate.

Upon finding the culprit he sees the little skele looking very sullenly at his untouched cake. Realizing he has gotten someone’s attention the little skele contemplates how to get him to understand without getting into more trouble. Not much choice he demonstrates trying to push his fork through the cake and flinching at even that small amount of force. Nightmare decides to focus more on the fact that he is reaching out for help than the flinch. Reaching from under the table Nightmare cuts the cake into manageable bite sized pieces and then returns to the video.

“You snuck up on Ink?” Blue looks up from his phone. “Of course he was trying paint. We told him he should only drink his own… I guess that is besides the point.”

“This is the same day he ran into Dream as well.” Nightmare finishes the video soon after. “No wonder he recoiled so hard.”

“Recoiled?” Blue looks at the little skele. “Dream wouldn’t have hurt a Sans he isn’t convinced is evil, even then he…”

“Shut up.” Nightmare looks and speaks evenly at Blue. “What he did was not kind, it was cruel.”

“I apologize but I do not understand.” Blue looks sad that he doesn’t understand not completely defensive at his friend’s supposed cruelty. “Could you explain?”

Nightmare is pissed on several different levels. His boys had managed to keep a bet like that under the table for way longer than he felt comfortable. Dream being brought up in his domain and defended in such a poor manner at that. The recollection of what Dream’s positivity can do when applied to the wrong person. Yet he has to contain it, Blue is asking to understand, something the multiverse as a whole normally shunned. He also needed to keep from upsetting the others.

“Grr… too much positivity is clinically called mania while negativity depression, sort of, this is a very dumbed down and simplified explanation.” Nightmare crosses his arms and looks around the table watching the little skele trying hard to ignore the conversation in favor of chasing a strawberry over his plate. “What do you think would happen if your brother suddenly started taking up your happy go lucky act? Why do you not ask Dream to feed him some positivity? Because once he left it would fade and like a drug he would crave it or go through withdrawal. Emotions aren’t drugs though. So you do not always feel physically sick, you hurt in a way that makes you want to hurt physically so you can understand.”

“Nightmare.” Killer slowly stands. “I think I am done.”

The little skele has managed to pop the last strawberry from his plate into his mouth and makes the chirping noise so Killer doesn’t leave him behind. As Killer hears the chair scooting back he turns to see the little skele has scootched his chair out by placing his foot against the table but is struggling trying to pull the fork from his hand. Seeing that Killer moves back over to assist him. His hands are shaking at first but he quickly controls it afraid of further injuring the little skele’s hand.

“There we go.” Killer sets the fork on the table. “We will just be in the living room.”

Nightmare is going to have to make it up to those two especially but Blue had deserved an explanation that might be of value later on. For now, he lets them leave to go collect themselves, knowing neither will let the other out of their site for the time being. Killer enters the living room and collapses on the couch staring up at the ceiling. The little skele follows but sits so Killer has space even if he is really wanting to get closer.

“Mind if I use you as a pillow.” Killer sits up and leans over so his head laid on the little skele. “Just need a bit of an anchor for a minute.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings:  
> Mild recovery talk  
> Really vague description of mania and depression

**Author's Note:**

> Constructive criticism welcomed.  
> Advice needed.  
> So I don't really know how to use them efficiently but I have a twitter and tumbler where I follow a bunch of artists and stuff. I don't have many of my own posts but I guess we could chat and stuff there.  
> I realized I have no idea how to share either of those so my username on both is AshleyKomi08.


End file.
